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A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD: 

WITH A 

HISTORY OF 

THE 

OREGON MISSION: 

AND NOTKS OF 

SEVERAL YEARS RESIDENCE ON THE PLAINS, 

BORDERING THE PACIFIC OCEAN.* 
COMPRISING AN ACCOUNT OF INTERESTING 

ADVENTURES AMONG THE INDIANS 

WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 

TO WHICH IS APPENDED A FDLL 

DESCRIPTION OF OREGON TERRITORY, 

ITS GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY, AND RELIGION; 

DESIGNED FOR THE 

BENEFIT OF EMIGRANTS TO THAT RISING COUNTRY. 



BY REV. GUSTAVUS piNES, 

LATE MISSIONARY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAl'cHURCH, TO OREGON, 



BUFFALO : 
GEORGE H. DERBY AND CO. 



1850. 




m 






*2 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by 

GUSTAVUS HINES, 

In the Clerk's Office for the Northern District of New York. 




^ 



II 



JEWETT, THOMAS & CO., 

STEREOTYPERS AND PRINTERS, 

BUFFALO, N. Y. 



PREFACE. 



^ 



If this volume does not commeud itself to the favorable considerations 
of the reading public, it will not be owing to any deficiency of material 
in the possession of the author, to enable him to furnish a most interesting 
and instructive work. Though his opportunities for the acquirement of 
that kind of knowledge resulting from observation, and necessary to qualify 
one to instruct and entertain mankind, during seven years of constant 
journeyings in various parts of the world, both by sea and land, have been 
perhaps greater than usually falls to the lot of even authors of books of 
travel, yet, conscious of his want of the requisite qualifications to array 
his work in that fascinating drapery necessary to charm the reader at once 
into an unqualified approval, the author casts himself upon the public 
with all due deference. 

The principal apology necessary to offer for the publication of this work, 
rs a desire to connect with entertainment the promotion of a more extensive 
and particular knowledge of those interesting portions of the world where 
it has been the privilege of the author to travel, and make his observations. 

While the world is literally teeming with fictitious publications, here is 
presented a volume of facts, for the most of which the author is alono 
responsible ; and in the absence of the tinsel adorning of a glowing and 
high-sounding style, the truthfulness of what is narrated ia the principal 
merit to which the work is entitled. 

The " History of the Oregon Mission, " to which the first chapter of 
the work is devoted, heis been drawn from the most reliable sources, and, 
principally from the short notes of the late Rev. Jason Lee, and the 
Journal of the late Cyrus Shepherd, the first missionary teacher in 
Oregon. 

This part, the author flatters himself, will supply the Christian public 
with a needful desideratum, with respect to the true character of that 
important Mission, and of the courageous and self-denying men who were 
the first to carry the Gospel across the Rocky Mountains, and to proclaim 
it along the shores of the Pai ific Ocean. 

The Journal, commencing with the departure of the Missionaries in 
the Ship Lausanne in the fall of 1839, will introduce the reader to all 



IV PREFACE. 

that is interesting relating to the largest expedition of the kind that ever 
sailed from an American port. It will acquaint him with " Life on the 
Ocean Wave," and the different interesting phenomena of the great deep. 
It will introduce to him the people of other countries, and give him 
information with respect to many of their customs. It will present him 
with a glimpse of oriental scenery, and occasionally unfold the beauties 
and sublimitieB of the mountain landscape. It will conduct him through 
perils by sea and perils by laud, and perils among the most savage, de- 
graded and treacherous of the human race. 

The Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian Oceans ; Brazil, Chili, the 
Sandwich Islands, Oregon, China, the Spanish Islands, and even Africa 
herself, have all been laid under contribution to enrich the Journal ; and 
from these different fields of observation have been collected facts, circum- 
stances, and incidents of histor}% which cannot fail to enlist the attention 
and excite the interest of the reader, and to induce him to pursue the 
narrative, until, with the author, he shall have circumnavigated the globe. 

The last few Chapters of the book are devoted exclusively to the 
Geography and History of the Oregon Territory. From a residence of 
several years in Oregon, connected with the fact that he made it a leading 
object to become informed from personal observation, not only with the 
geography of the country, with its productions ; the soil, climate, seasons, 
mountains, valleys, prairies, forests, rivers, &c. ; but also willi every 
circumstance of importance which has ever transpired in connection with 
either the civil, political or religious interests of the country, the author 
believes himself to be qualified to present the inquiring public with more 
correct information regarding that portion of the world, than has hitherto 
been furnished from any source. For some of the facts connected with 
the History of Oregon, the author would acknowledge his indebtedness to 
the able and interesting Memoirs of Mr. Greenhow, the recent translator 
and librarian of the department of State, at Washington. 

With these remarks, conscious of the uprightness of his intentions, the 
author would now place his offering upon the public altar ; counting no 
other favor in its behalf than that to which the merit of his performance is 
justly entitled. 



INDEX, 



Assistant Missionaries— arrival 24 

Alarming Phenomena 51 

Adventures at Valparaiso 70 

Affray at Sea 75 

Anniversary of landing at Oahu 81 

Astoria, site of 89 

Arrival at Mission 92 

Arrival at " La Butte," 127 

Affecting History 186 

Arrival at Maui 201 

Arrival at Hong Kong 262 

Arrival at New York 315 

Astoria 370 

Another tragedy at Fort Stikier 394 

Ashley's Expedition 407 

Brig May Dacre 11 

Bullfrogs and Snakes 97 

Bridge River 98 

Baker's Bay 199 

Babcock, Dr. J. L 202 

Bermuda Islands 313 

Blowing up the " Tonquin," 371 

Calapoa Chief shot 25 

Centennary of Methodism 45 

Christmas at Sea 63 

Cape Horn, doubling 64 

Columbia River, crossing the Bar 86 

Chenook Indians i^ 

Columbia River, Journey on ... 91 

Cooper — the Indian half-breed 126 

" his remarkable adventures. ..126 

Cornelius Rosers 137 

Charles Roc^ 139 

Causes of Panic 143 

Complaint of the Indians .147 

Cape Horn, Oregon 153 

Cascade Range of Mountains 155 

Changes in Hawaiian Government 211 

Churches at Sandwich Islands -.214 

Catching a Porpoise ...249 

Chinese Heathen Temple at Macao 279 

Canion, city of 282 

Cape of Good Hope 304 

Cape Town 306 

Climate of Oregon 333 

Captain James Cook 354 

Captain Vancouver 359 

Captain Carver 366 

Clark, Lewis and Williams 366 

Captain Bonneville 410 

Constitution of Oregon 426 

Distillery abandoned - 18 

Death of Mrs. Maria Ann Lee 31 

Departure fromHonolohu 85 

Departure from Umpqua 107 

Disaster at the Umpqua ..115 

Death of Esquire Crocker, Cornelius 
Rogers, wife and daughter 136 



Dorio, Baptiste 165 

Departure from Oregon 192 

Description of Hong Kong 266 

Desperate Affray 435 

Elk Mountain 118 

Estate of Mr. Rogers settled 140 

Excitement continued 145 

Election of Chieftain 183 

Fort Walla Walla 11 

First evening on board ship 39 

First Sabbath at sea 44 

French man-of-war, Ariimese 83 

Frenchman's wife 101 

Frenchman's story 109 

Flood at Champoeg 141 

Feathercap, the Kayuse Chief 166 

Fin-back Whale 197 

Fire at Honolohu 204 

First arrival of Missionaries at the 

Sandwich islands 212 

Final departure and voyage home 244 

Flower Gardens near Canton 292 

Floating population of China 298 

First American Ships to N. W. Coast-357 
Fort Vancouver 383 

Grey, Mr. hair-breadth escape 34 

George Abernethey 1.31 

Great Dalls, the 158 

Gerritt P. Judd 222 

Governor of Canton 262 

Gutzlaff, Rev. Charles 263 

House for Missionaries built 12 

Honolohu, city of. 77 

Hostile demonstrations 142 

"HoaTita," the vessel 203 

Health of Hong Kong 273 

History of Oregon 318 

Hudson's Bay Company 380 

Indian School enlarged 15 

Infant of Mrs. White drowned 33 

Indian fight 99 

Indian cooking 102 

Indian dresses 107 

Indians of Umpqua valley 117 

Indian war-dance 174 

Indian credulity.. 177 

Indian eloquence 182 

Indian feast 184 

Indian doctress killed ..190 

Independence of Sandwich Islands 223 

Island of Formosa 260 

Italian sailor 310 

Incident on board ship 312 

Journey down Columbia River 11 

Joseph Poornaffe— death 18 



IND EX. 



John Day 161 

JohnRicord 224 

J. R. Morrison 270 

"Jos House," near Canton 286 

John Jacob Astor 368 

Kane's Fork, arrival at 11 

Kayuse Chief, We-Iap-lu-Iekt 23 

Kiackamaa Tribe ^ 144 

Kamehameha, King 219 

Lee, Rev. Jason 10 

Lucy Hedding — death 17 

Leave Rio de Janerio 62 

Leave Valparaiso 73 

Lee, Rev. Daniel 87 

Leave Columbia River 201 

Ladrone Islands 258 

Leave Hong Kong 300 

Lumber in Oregon 346 

Missionary Meeting at St Louis 10 

Marriages in Oregon 25 

Mission at the Dalls 29 

Medical aid sent to the Dalls 32 

Mission School 35 

Magellan Clouds 53 

Mowi, Island of 76 

Manoah, valley of 83 

McLaughlin, Dr. John 90 

Missionary Hymn 106 

McCary's marriage 133 

Mount Hood 150 

Murder in Oregon 248 

Macao, city of 276 

Mountains of Oregon 321 

Monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Co 385 

New Houses built - 26 

Native Church at Honolohn 79 

Nez Perce Indians 178 

Ningpoo Exchange 286 

North- west Fur Company 374 

Oregon Mission — history 9 

Oregon Temperance Society 15 

Oregon Missionary Society formed 28 

Out of sight of land 41 

Oahu, island of. 77 

"Old Pomp," 115 

Oregon Institute ...241 

Observations on the Celestial Empire. .296 
Oregon Territory, its geography 317 

Parker, Rev. Mr. arrival at Mission ... 15 

Pacific Coast — land journey to 27 

Passengers on the voyage 42 

Porpoises 50 

Para, visit to 82 

Perilous journey 114 

Pillar Rock 195 

Population of Sandwich Islands 209 

Punch Bowl Hill 228 

Productions of Sandwich Islands 230 

Political History of Oregon 417 

Rainy Season 12 

Religious excitement at the Dalls 35 



Rio de Janerio 54 

Religious state of Rio 56 

Royal family at Honolohu 80 

Return from Umpqua 119 

Rev. James OUey. drowned 123 

Rock Island Rapids 128 

Richard McCary's adventure 132 

Recovery of a stolen horse 147 

Reflections on the banks of the Colum- 
bia - .- 151 

River De Shoots 160 

Red Wolf. 170 

Roman Catholic Missionaries 217 

Return to Oregon 233 

Rev. George Gary 235 

Rivers in Oregon 325 

Restoration of Fort George 377 

Slocum, Wm. A 21. 

Sea-sickness 41 

Storm at sea 47 

Slavery at Rio de Janerio 60 

Straits of Magellan 65 

Sharks caught 74 

Sandwich Islands, description of 78 

Smith, Soublette and Jackson 110 

Smith's fate Ill 

Search for the body of Rev, Mr. 011ey.l2S 

Second Tour to Vancouver 129 

Sad catastrophe 139 

Supper at Champoeg 140 

Sandwich Islands, view of 207 

Seaman's Chaplaincy at Honolohn 216 

Sabbath observance by Hawaiians 231 

Straits of Sunda 302 

Sumatra and Java 303 

Soil of Oregon 338 

Spanish discoveries 349 

Tour to the Umpqua 93 

Talk with the Indians 104 

Tour to Vancouver .120 

Third visit tathe Sandwich Islands 252 

Timber of Oregon 331 

Trading Posts West of Rocky Moun- 
tains r5S2 

Tragedy on Columbia River 390 

Umpqua, tour commenced 29 

Umpqua Fort 99 

Umpqua Chief's wife killed 113 

Vancouver, children baptized 12 

Voyage from New York to Oregon 38 

Valparaiso city 66 

" definition of name 71 

Valley of Lapwai 172 

Voluntary interment of an Indian 186 

Voyage to Ciiina 255 

White Elijah 24 

Wallametie River 31 

Whales discovered 49 

Wallametie Falls 91 

Wreck of the Alcesta 301 

Young and Carmichael's letter 20 

Yellow Serpent, and other Chiefs - - - -169 



HISTORY OF THE OREGON MISSION. 



CHAPTER I. 

History of the Oregon mission, from its commencement lo tJie departure of the 
great reinforcement, in the fall of 1839, in the ship Lausanne. 

In the year 1832, four Indians, belonging to the Flat 
Head tribe, living west of the Rocky Mountains, per- 
formed a wearisome journey on foot to St. Louis, in 
Missouri, for the purpose of inquiring for the Christian's 
Book and the white man's God. Early in 1833, notice 
of this wonderful event was given in the Christian 
Advocate and Journal, published in New York, and a 
general feeling of christian sympath}^ was produced in 
all the churches of the land for these interesting heathen, 
and a proposition was made that the Missionary Board 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church proceed forthwith to 
establish a mission among the Flat Head Indians. This 
measure was strongly advocated by Dr. Fisk, Dr. 
Bangs, and many others, while none were opposed to 
the accomphshment of so worthy an object. While the 
subject was being agitated. Dr. Fisk corresponded with 
the Rev. Jason Lee, of Stanstead, C. E., having for- 
merly been his tutor in the Wilbraham Academy, to 
ascertain whether he would undertake the superintend- 
ence of an Indian mission beyond the Rocky Mountains. 
Mr. Lee was then employed on an Indian mission, under 
the direction of the Church in Canada ; but yielding to 
the solicitations of Dr. Fisk, and from a conviction of 
duty, he left Canada, and repairing to Boston in June, 
1 



10 HISTORY OF 

1833, where the New England Conference was then in 
session, he was received into that body as a member on 
probation, ordained by Bishop Hedding, and, on the 
recommendation of the Board of Managers of the Mis- 
sionary Society of the M. E, Church, was appointed to 
the superintendence of the Oregon mission. 

In the following August, Rev. Daniel Lee, a nephew 
of Rev. Jason Lee, was appointed to labor in the same 
field. When they received their appointment, they 
knew of no way of getting to the field assigned them, 
unless they ventured alone across the continent, through 
hostile tribes, or could find some vessel bound to the 
North-West coast, around Cape Horn, that would take 
them on board ; and they continued in suspense in 
regard to their mode of proceeding, until November, 
when notice appeared in the public journals that Captain 
N. J. Wyeth, of Cambridge, Mass., had recently re- 
turned from a tour west of the Rocky Mountains, and 
that he contemplated returning to Oregon in the follow- 
ing spring. On receiving this intelligence, J. Lee 
immediately repaired to Boston, had an interview with 
Capt. Wyeth, and readily obtained permission to accom- 
pany him back to Oregon. Capt. W. had also made 
arrangements to send a vessel, called the ''May Dacre," 
round to the Columbia river, loaded with goods ; and 
while in Boston Mr. Lee procured the necessary outfit 
for his mission, and shipped it on board of Capt. Wyeth^s 
vessel. Here, also, by the consent of the Board, Mr. 
Lee engaged Cyrus Shepard, a lay member of the 
church, to accompany him. During the interval be- 
tween the time that they received their appointment, 
and the period fixed upon for their departure, the Lees 
held a number of missionary meetings in various parts 
of the country, with very encouraging results. Early 
in March, 1834, they left New England for the west, 
and on arriving in Missouri, P. L. Edwards, also a lay 
member, was connected with the mission party, which 
now numbered four. 

This company, after holding a most interesting mis- 
sionary meeting at St. Louis, proceeded to Fort 



THE OREGON MISSION. 11 

Independence, on the frontiers of Missouri, which is a 
place of general rendezvous before starting for the 
mountains, where they met Capt. Wyeth and his party, 
on the 24th of April, 1834. 

On the 25th, the expedition left Independence, and 
commenced their wearisome and perilous journey across 
the Rocky Mountains, and on the 20th of June they 
arrived at the general rendezvous of the American Fur 
Traders on Kane's Fork, which is a branch of the Colo- 
rado of the West. 

Here they continued till the 2nd of July, to recruit 
their jaded animals, and then proceeded on, and on the 
15th, arrived at a place on the Snake river, west of the 
mountains, where Wyeth and his men built a trading 
station, which he called Fort Hall. Here the mission- 
aries tarried until the 30th of July ; and as Capt. Wyeth 
was detained longer for the purpose of finishing his fort, 
the mission party resolved to proceed, in company with 
Mr. Thomas McKay and Capt. Stewart, and on the first 
day of September they arrived in safety at Fort Walla 
Walla, on the Columbia river. They ascertained, on 
their journey down from Fort Hall, that the Flat Head 
tribe of Indians was not only very small, but very 
disadvantageously situated for the establishment and 
support of missionary operations among them; and this 
brought them to the determination to proceed down to 
the lower country, to find a more eligible site for the 
location of their mission. 

Leaving their horses at Walla- Walla, they proceeded 
down the Columbia in one of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany's boats, and after a tedious voyage of eleven days, 
against strong head winds, they arrived in safety at 
Vancouver on the 15th of September, and the following 
night slept under a roof, for the first time for one 
hundred and fifty-two nights. Worn out with the ex- 
cessive labor and fatigue of their long journey, they 
could well appreciate the kind hospitality with which 
they were entertained by the gentlemen of the Fort ; 
bat they gave themselves but two days to rest, and to 
consult with their hosts, who were well acquainted with 



12 HISTORY OF 

all the Indian tribes, concerning the object they had in 
view ; and on the 18th, J. and D. Lee were off on an 
exploring tour through the country, to ^' make observa- 
tions relative to the best location for the mission." 

Examining the Wallamette valley and other portions 
of the country, they returned to Vancouver on the 27th, 
still undecided as to the proper place to make the 
location. 

The merits of the different portions of the country 
were considered, the Flat Heads, the Nez Perces, the 
Kayuses, and other tribes, were faithfully reviewed, but 
to the exclusion of all others, the Wallamette valley was 
strongly recommended by Dr. John McLaughlin and the 
rest of the gentlemen of Vancouver, as the most eligible 
place for the establishment of the centre of their ope- 
rations. 

On Sunday, the 28th, Jason Lee preached twice at 
Vancouver, to a congregation of English, Irish, French, 
half-caste, &c., which wei'e the lirst sermons ever 
preached in the place, and doubtless the first that many 
of the people had ever heard. 

It was finally decided, '' after much prayer for direc- 
tion as to the place," to locate the mission in the 
Wallamette valley, and as the brig May Dacre had 
safely arrived in the Columbia with the goods belonging 
to the mission, measures were immediately taken to 
receive them from Capt. Lambert, and convey them to 
the place selected for the station. The brig lay at the 
mouth of the Multnomah, or lower mouth of the Walla- 
mette, and the site for the mission was seventy-five 
miles up the river; but, after "much toil and hard 
labor," Mr. Lee succeeded in getting up all the goods, 
and they were landed on the mission premises on the 
6th day of October. 

The rainy season was commencing, and as they had 
no bouse to shelter either themselves or their goods 
from the inclemency of the weather, they went imme- 
diately to work to prepare logs, &c., to build a house. 
The rain fell in torrents long before their house was 
erected, yet they labored constantly during the day, and 



THE OREGON MISSION. 13 

at night were obliged to lie down together in a small 
tent, scarcely large enough to contain them, and, 
wrapped in their wet clothes, seek a few homes' repose 
to prepare them for the toils and storms of the ensuing 
day. Their house was 32 feet by 1 8, and on the 3d of 
November they moved their goods into it, though they 
had put on but ten feet of the roof. So soon as they 
got their house thus partly covered, they began to 
receive Indian children into their family, with the design 
of establishing a mission school, and also to labor for the 
spiritual benefit of all the Indians, and the few French 
people who had settled in the country. Meetings were 
estabhshed at the house of Mr. Joseph Gervais, and 
held every Sabbath, the principal ^ attendants being 
French and half-caste. 

On the 14th of December, Mr. Jason Lee visited 
Vancouver, where he preached, and baptized four adults 
and seventeen children. In consideration of these ser- 
vices he received, in donations, from the gentlemen of 
the company, the sum of twenty dollars, for the benefit 
of the mission. During the winter of 1835, the missiona- 
ries were alternately employed in improving their house, 
procuring supplies, preaching the gospel, and teaching 
the Indian and half-caste children to read and write. 

Thrown entirely upon their own resources, in the 
spring, to guard against future want, they commenced 
cultivating the ground. There was no alternative; they 
must do so, or starve. While they saw some fruits of 
their labors in other respects, this department of their 
work, during the summer, was greatly prospered, for in 
the fall, after they gathered in their crops, they found 
themselves with a'good supply of w^heat, peas, oats, and 
barley, and two hundred and fifty bushels of potatoes 
in their cellar. This, with six barrels of salmon which 
J. Lee purchased fresh of the Indians at the Wallamette 
Falls, and salted with his own hands, and took up the 
river to the mission, furnished them wdth the means of 
subsistence for the following year. 

Soon after the missionaries first arrived, Mr. Cyrus 
Shepard was employed at Vancouver, to teach the chil- 



14 HISTORY OF 

dren belonging to the Fort, but losing his health, he was 
obliged to leave his school. On the ]st of March he 
ascended the river in company w^ith Mr. Lee, and from 
that time remained on the Wallamette station. 

Late in August a circumstance happened which shows 
to what dangers the missionaries were exposed. A boy 
whose Lidian name was Ken-o-teesh, belonging to the 
Si-le-lah tribe, was received into the mission in April, 
and died on the 19th of the following August. A few 
days after his death, his brother came to the mission, 
determined to seek revenge for the death of Ken-o- 
teesh, by taking the hfe of Daniel Lee and Cyrus 
Shepard. He remained over night, and was prevented 
from accomplishing his design only by the interposition 
of an Indian who accompanied him. Bent upon glut- 
ting his vengeance on somebody, he crossed the river, 
and fell upon a band of unarmed Indians, and savagely 
murdered several of them. 

In the month of September, nearly the whole mission 
family were attacked with the intermittent fever, and 
the mission house was converted into an hospital, with- 
out an attending physician. A scene of distress now 
presented itself, and our missionaries not only suffered 
personally, but were obliged to descend to the most 
menial services, in waiting upon the Indian children, for 
whose comfort they manifested the utmost care. 

Mr. Daniel Lee and Mr. P. L. Edwards left the 
mission premises the last of September, the former for 
Vancouver to obtain medical aid, and the latter to 
embark on board the Brig May Dacre for the United 
States. Remaining awhile at Vancouver without bene- 
fit to his health, Mr. Lee, by the advice of Dr. Mc- 
Laughlin, embarked on board one of the Hudson's Bay 
Company's ships, bound for the Sandwich Islands, and 
in consequence of this, Mr. Edwards relinquished the 
idea of leaving the country at that time, and returned 
to the mission, and late in October established a school 
for the winter, at Campment du Sable, on Champoeg. 

To provide for future contingencies, the missionaries 
sowed that fall twenty-seven bushels of wheat. 



THE OREGON MISSION. 15 

On the 26th of November, the Rev, Mr. Parker a 
Presbyterian Clergyman from the State of New York, 
arrived at the mission, vi^here he was most cordially 
received. He had been sent out by the A. B. C. F. M. 
to explore the country, and ascertain the most eligible 
site for a mission. He remained at the station two da3^s 
only, when he returned to Vancouver. Dr. Marcus 
Whitman accompanied him over the Rocky Mountains, 
but on arriving at the Snake river, the doctor returned 
to the States for the purpose of inducing the Board to 
appoint missionaries forthwith to Oregon. 

The enlargement of the mission family by receiving 
Indian children from time to time, rendered it necessary, 
at the close of this year, for the missionaries to build an 
addition to their house, 32 by 16 feet This they did 
principally with their own hands. In reviewing the year^ 
the missionaries found cause for thankfulness in the 
success which had attended their labors, though they 
had been called to pass through some tr3ang scenes, 
and to meet with many discouragements. They had 
received fifteen children into the family, of whom four 
had died, and one had been dismissed, leaving ten under 
their instruction. These were making rapid progress 
in manners, science, and useful labor ; and by the bless- 
ing of God the missionaries had a sufficiency of whole- 
some food for themselves and the children. 

In February, 1836, hearing it rumored abroad that 
certain Americans, who had arrived in the country, 
were about to commence the manufacture of rum, and 
fearing, from a knowledge of the material of which the 
Oregon community was composed, that intemperance 
would sweep over their field of labor, the missionaries 
invited the settlers to the mission house, and formed the 
Oregon Temperance Society, the first organized west 
of the Rocky Mountains. Three only, besides the 
members of the mission, signed the pledge at first, but 
subsequently the number increased to eighteen. 

About the first of March a vessel arrived in the Co- 
lumbia from the Sandwich Islands, bringing intelligence 
that the health of Daniel Lee had much improved, but 



16 HISTORY OF 

for the general good of the cause he had concluded to 
remain till another opportunity should present itself for 
returning to Oregon. The natives of Oakee had made 
a contribution to Mr. Lee for the benefit of the Oregon 
mission, amounting to two hundred and fifty dollars. 
At the same time that this intelligence reached the mis- 
sion, a letter was received by Jason Lee from Dr. 
McLaughlin, inclosing a subscription for the benefit of 
the mission, to the amount of one hundred and thirty 
dollars, all from the gentlemen at Vancouver. As the 
letter shows in what light these intelligent persons 
viewed the mission at that time, I insert a copy. It is 
as follows : 

^'FoRT Vancouver, 1st March, 1836. 
The Rev. Jason Lee : 

Dear Sir, — I do myself the pleasure to hand you the 
inclosed subscription, which the gentlemen who have 
signed it request you will do them the favor to accept 
for the use of the mission, and they pray our Heavenly 
Father, without whose assistance we can do nothing, 
that of his infinite mercy he may vouchsafe to bless and 
prosper your pious endeavors — and believe me to be, 
with esteem and regard, your sincere w^ell wisher and 
humble servant, 

John McLaughlin. " 

The business of the mission continued as usual, with- 
out any thing especial taking place, until the 30th of 
April, when we find Mr. J. Lee at the death bed of G. 
Sergent, a native of New England, whom he found in 
extreme agony both of body and mind. As Mr. Lee 
entered, the dying man told him that as he had lived a 
life of wickedness, he was about to die an awful death. 
The missionary pointed him to the Redeemer of the 
world, and commended him to God in prayer. He ap- 
peared deeply affected, and responding a hearty amen, 
in a short time ceased to breathe. 

Teaching the children, preaching to both the settlers 
and natives, visiting the sick, attending funerals, and 



THE OREGON MISSION. 17 

harvesting their crops^ employed the time of the mis- 
sionaries during the summer ; and in the fall, to make 
their '' bread sure, " they sowed thirty-four bushels of 
wheat. 

In the latter part of August there arrived a vessel in 
the Columbia river from England, by the way of the 
Sandwich Islands, having on board the Rev. Daniel Lee, 
who had recovered his health, and Rev. Mr. Beaver 
and lady. Mr. Beaver had been sent out as chaplain 
to the Hudson's Bay Company at Vancouver. He was 
a clergyman of the Church of England. Mr. Lee 
arrived at the mission at a very seasonable time to 
render himself useful, not only in his appropriate mis- 
sionary work, but also in assisting to take care of the 
sick members of the mission family. At this time Mr. 
J. Lee was suffering under a severe attack of the inter- 
mittent fever. Partially recovering from this attack, he 
started for Vancouver on the 6th of September, taking 
with him a favorite Indian girl whom he called Lucy 
tiedding, to obtain medical aid in her behalf. 

On the 12th, he returned, bringing information of the 
arrival at Walla- Walla of the Rev. Mr. Spaulding and 
wife. Dr. Whitman and wife, and Mr. Grey, who had 
been sent out as missionaries by the A. B. C. F. M. 
As Mr. Lee had taken the lower country, they decided 
upon locating their mission in the interior, among the 
Kayuse and Nez Perce Indians. These were the first 
American ladies that ever crossed the Rocky Mountains, 
and their arrival in the country formed an epoch in the 
history of Oregon. 

During the month of September, nearly all the mission 
family were sick at once, with the intermittent fever, 
and another was taken to Vancouver, by Mr. Edwards, 
for medical aid. Mr. Edwards returned on the 30th, 
bringing with him Lucy Hedding, who had received no 
benefit from medicine. She died on the 5th of October. 

On the 22nd, J. Lee had a third attack of the fever, 
so severe as to deprive him of reason for a short time. 
He continued to suffer, without medical advice, until the 
21st of November, when, in a very reduced state, he 



18 HISTORY OF 

set out for Vancouver, where he arrived tv^o days 
afterwards. 

During his absence, died Joseph Pournaffe, a member 
of the mission school, aged 17 years. This lad was 
very attentive to religious instruction, and left* off play 
and work on the Sabbath, immediately on being told it 
was wrong. He often expressed much thankfulness 
that the missionaries had come to the country, to learn 
him to read, and tell him about God. He was a pro- 
mising youth, and, if he had lived, would probably have 
been a blessing to the country. As it was, the missiona- 
ries had much consolation in his death, for he gave them 
satisfaction that their labors had not been in vain. 

On the 28th of December, after an absence of five 
weeks, J. Lee returned from Vancouver with his health 
somewhat improved, though still quite feeble. 

Eighteen children and adults had been admitted into 
the mission family during this year ; two had died and 
one had run away. The missionaries found on their 
hands, the last day of December, twenty-five persons ; 
but having enlarged their farming operations, by the 
blessing of God they found themselves in the possession 
of suppHes amply sufficient to sustain them until another 
harvest. 

On the 2nd day of January, 1837, the members of 
the mission found cause to rally their forces, to support 
the cause of temperance. A meeting of the Temperance 
Society was called at the mission house ; one member 
who had violated the pledge, was excluded, and three 
more were added to the Society. As the reports con- 
cerning the distillation of ardent spirits were about to be 
verified by a couple of men, named Young and Carmi- 
chael, it was unanimously resolved by the meeting to send 
them a written request, signed by all the members of the 
Oregon Temperance Society, to desist from their unholy 
enterprise. The following is a copy of the correspond- 
ence which took place between the Society and Messrs. 
Young & Carmichael, and is inserted to show what 
stand the missionaries took in guarding the morals of 
the community, and the extent of the influence they 



THE OREGON MISSION. 19 

exerted. But for these measures, intemperance would 
have devastated the country. 

" Messrs. Young & Carmichael : 

" Gentlemen, — Whereas w^e, the members of the 
Oregon Temperance Society, have learned with no 
common interest, and with feelings of deep regret, that 
you are now preparing a distillery for the purpose of 
manufacturing ardent spirits, to be sold in this vicinity; 
and, whereas, we are most fully convinced that the 
vending of spiritous liquors will more effectually para- 
lyze our efforts for the promotion of temperance, than 
any other, or all other obstacles that can be thrown in 
our way; and, as we do feel a Hvely and intense interest 
in the success of the temperance cause, believing as we 
do, that the prosperity and interests of this infant and 
rising settlement will be materially affected by it, both 
as it respects its temporal and spiritual welfare, and that 
the poor Indians, whose case is even now indescribably 
wretched, will be made far more so by the use of ardent 
spirits ; and whereas, gentlemen, you are not ignorant 
that the laws of the United States prohibit American 
citizens from selling ardent spirits to Indians under the 
penalty of a heavy fine ; and as you do not pretend to 
justify yourselves, but urge pecuniary interest as the 
reason of your procedure ; and as w^e do not, cannot 
think it will be of pecuniary interest to you to prosecute 
this business ; and as we are not enemies, but friends, 
and do not wish, under existing circumstances, that you 
should sacrifice one penny of the money you have 
already expended ; we, therefore, for the above, and 
various other reasons which we could urge, 

" 1st. Resolved, That we do most earnestly and feel- 
ingly request you, gentlemen, forever to abandon your 
enterprise. 

" 2nd. Resolved, That we will and do hereby agree 
to pay you the sum you have expended, if you will give 
us the avails of your expenditures, or deduct from them 
the bill of expenses. 



20 HISTORY OF 

" 3d. Resolved, That a committee of one be appointed 
to make known the views of this society, and preseni 
our request to Messrs. Young & Carmichael. 

" 4th. Resolved, That the undersigned will pay the 
sums severally affixed to our names, to Messrs. Young 
& Carmichael, on or before the thirty-first day of 
March next, the better to enable them to give up their 
project." 

Then followed the names of nine Americans, and 
fifteen Frenchmen, which then embraced a majority of 
the white men of the country, excluding the Hudson's 
Bay Company, with a subscription of sixty-three dollars, 
and a note appended as follows: 

" We, the undersigned, jointly promise to pay the 
balance, be the same more or less. 

'' Jason Lee, 
Daniel Lee, 
Cyrus Shepard, 
P. L. Edwards." 

To the above request Messrs. Young &l Carmichael 
returned the following answer: 

"Wallamette, 13th Jan., 1837. 
" To THE Oregon Temperance Society: 

*' Gentlemen, — Having taken into consideration your 
request to rehnquish our enterprise in manufacturing 
ardent spirits, we therefore do agree to stop our pro- 
ceeding for the present. But, gentlemen, the reasons 
for first beginning such an undertaking were the innu- 
merable difficulties placed in our way by, and the 
tyranising oppression of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
here under the absolute authority of Dr. McLaughlin, 
who has treated us with more disdain than any Ameri- 
can citizen's feelings could support. But as there have 
now some favorable circumstances occurred to enable 
us to get along without making spiritous liquors, we 
resolve to stop the manufacture of it for the present; 
but, gentlemen, it is not consistent with our feelings to 



THE OREGON MISSION. 2^1 

receive any recompense whatever for our expenditures, 
but v^^e are thankful to the Society for their otfer. 
" We remain, yours, &c., 

" Young & Carmichael." 

The missionaries from the first had proved a great 
blessing to the country, not only in a spiritual and moral 
point of view, but in furnishing employment to many 
individuals otherwise without the means of livelihood ; 
and setting an example of industry and perseverance in 
the temporal departments of their work, they gave a 
spur to all business operations, and the community 
seemed at once to spring from that state of inactivity 
into which it had been thrown by the domineering 
policy of the Hudson's Bay Company, into one of 
great enterprise and prosperity. In the early part of 
January a circumstance transpired which enabled the 
members of the mission and others, to carry out a design 
which they had previously formed, and in the execution 
of which the temporal interests of the country would be 
greatly promoted. This design was to send an expedi- 
tion to California to purchase and drive to Oregon a 
band of neat cattle for the supply of the settlers. The 
circumstance referred to was the arrival in the country 
of Wm. A. Slocum, Esq., of the United States Navy. 
Up to this period there were no cattle in the country, 
except what belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company, 
and they would not sell, but compelled the settlers, if 
they had cattle at all, to take cows merely for their 
milk, and return them with their increase. This looked 
too much like oppression to Mr. Jason Lee, and he 
resolved, if possible, to break up the cattle monopoly, 
believing that he would thereby confer a lasting benefit 
to the country. On the arrival of Mr. Slocum, he pro- 
posed to take to Cahfornia, any number of persons that 
might be needed, free of expense except board ; and 
a meeting was immediately called at the mission house, 
for the purpose of forming a California Cattle Company, 
and making the necessary arrangements for the expedi- 
tion. Each person belonging to the Company was to 



2^ HISTORY OF 

share in proportion to the amount of money he invested, 
and the persons who went with the expedition were to 
be paid a stipulated sum per month in cattle. P. L. 
Edwards and Ewing Young, were appointed to take 
charge of the Company, and Thursday the 19th of 
January was fixed upon as the day for the vessel to sail. 
Mr. Slocum, while in Oregon, manifested a deep 
interest in the welfare of the rising settlement, and 
especially in the prosperity of the Oregon mission. He 
highly approved of the method the missionaries had 
pursued to benefit the Indians, and said he was perfectly 
astonished at the improvement those had made who 
were under the care of the mission. In company with 
Mr. Jason Lee, he visited the several farms in the 
settlement, and on the 14th, took his leave of the Walla- 
mette, Mr. Lee accompanying him to Vancouver. A 
letter signed by the missionaries, commendatory of the 
course Mr. Slocum had pursued in the country, had 
been put into his hands before leaving, and he returned 
them the following answer, which contained a donation 
of fifteen dollars for the benefit of the mission. This 
letter was put into the hands of Mr. Lee during his last 
interview with Mr. Slocum. 

" American Brig Loriot, off the Wallamette, ) 
Oregon river, 18th January, 1837. 5 

" My dear Sirs : — I have much pleasure in acknow- 
ledging the receipt of your kind favor of the 16th, and 
I beg leave to thank you for the expressions of regard 
contained therein. It was indeed a source of regret 
that I could continue no longer at your mission on the 
banks of the Wallamette, for the visit was to me one 
of exceeding interest. On my return to the civilized 
parts of our country, I shall not hesitate to express my 
humble opinion that you have already effected a great 
public good, by practically showing that the Indians 
west of the Rocky Mountains are capable of the union 
of mental and physical discipline, as taught at your 
establishment. For I have seen with my own eyes, 
children, who, two years ago, were roaming their own 



THE OREGON MISSION. 



native wilds in a state of savage barbarism, nov^ being 
brought within the knowledge of moral and religious 
instruction, becoming useful members of society, by 
being taught the most useful of all arts, agriculture, and 
all this without the slightest compulsion. 

" As an evidence of my good will towards the lauda- 
ble efforts you are making in this remote quarter, 
debarred of almost every comfort, deprived of the 
associations of kindred, and of home, I beg you to accept 
herewith, the sum of fifty dollars ; only regretting that 
my means at present will not allow me to add more, I 
pray you to accept, my dear sirs, the assurances of the 
unfeigned regard of, 

'^ Your friend and ob'nt servant, 

" Wm. a. Slocum, U. S. N." 

Mr. Slocum's vessel left the Columbia river about the 
first of February, and arrived safely in the Bay of San 
Francisco, on the coast of California. The cattle com- 
pany proceeded immediately to purchase a large band 
of cattle, and a number of horses, with which they 
started for Oregon. In crossing a range of mountains 
separating the two countries, they were attacked by the 
Rascal Indians, and a number of their cattle were killed, 
but they at length succeeded in driving back their foe, 
and saving the remainder. Contrary to the predictions 
and wishes of the members of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, who indirectly opposed them at the outset, they 
arrived in safety in the Wallamette valley with six 
hundred head of cattle, and distributed them among the 
settlers, according to the provisions of the compact. 
This successful enterprise, which laid the foundation for 
a rapid accumulation of wealth by the settlers, was 
mainly accomplished through the energy and persever- 
ance of Rev. Jason Lee. 

Sometime in July, 1836, We-lap-tu-Iekt, an Indian of 
the Kayuse tribe, came to the mission on the Walla- 
mette, and brought two of his sons, whom he desired to 
have remain to be educated. He had travelled with the 
missionaries, while on their wav from Fort Hall to 



24 HISTORY OP ^ 

Walla- Walla, and seemed very attentive to religious 
instruction, and desirous that missionaries should settle 
in the Kay use country ; but none having yet come, he 
resolved to visit the mission in the loM^er country. He 
v^^as so well pleased that he determined to return to his 
country, and bring his family dov^^n to the mission, as 
soon as possible. This he accomplished by the 6th of 
September, when he settled his family near the mis- 
sion station. Some of his children attended the school, 
and appeared to be making rapid improvement, but in 
February, 1837, his family began to suffer with disease. 
Two of his children died in quick succession, and a third 
was fast sinking with a burning fever. We-lap-tu-lekt 
was frightened, and supposed that all his family would 
die, if he did not leave the place. He accordingly fled 
in a canoe, but just at the moment of his landing at 
Vancouver, another of his family expired. These re- 
peated deaths in one family, and the fact that most of 
the mission children were sick, and some had died but 
recently, began to create a prejudice in the minds of the 
Indians, against having their children remain with the 
mission, and after this it was not so easy to procure and 
retain them. 

In February, 1835, Mr. Lee addressed letters to the 
Board in New York, earnestly soliciting them to send 
out a reinforcement. In compliance with this request, 
the Board appointed Dr. Elijah White and wife, Mr. 
AJanson Beers and wife, Miss Ann Maria Pitman, Miss 
Susan Downing, Miss Elvina Johnson, and Mr. W. H. 
Wilson, assistant missionaries. This company sailed 
from Boston in July, 1836, and, after several months 
detention at the Sandwich Islands, entered the mouth of 
the Columbia river in May, 1837. Intelligence of their 
arrival in the Columbia was received on the 18th of 
May, and the following day J. Lee went down the river 
in a canoe to meet them and conduct them to the 
station. On the 27th he returned with five of them, the 
others remaining awhile at Vancouver. Their arrival 
in the country was hailed by the four lonely brethren, 
who had hitherto composed the mission, with great 



M THE OREGON MISSION. 25 

gladness, and the more so because they were thenceforth 
to be cheered by the presence and sympathy of intelli- 
gent females, from their own native land, especially as 
they had found, long before this, that " it was not good 
for man to be alone." 

The next day after the arrival of the reinforcement at 
the station, Sam-nik, a Calapooa chief, was brought to 
the mission house, dreadfully mangled, having been shot 
by another Indian, while sleeping in his lodge. He 
desired surgical aid. This was the second circumstance 
of the kind that had transpired within a short time. 

The last of May, the mission was visited by Captain 
Hinckley and lady, of the vessel that brought out the 
reinforcement, and the first of June, J. Lee accompanied 
them back to Vancouver. On his return, the 13th of 
that month, he found Cyrus Shepard dangerously sick 
with inflammatory fever; but under the faithful care of 
Dr. White,"he soon recovered. 

On the 4th of July, the annual meeting of the Oregon 
Temperance Society was held at the mission house, 
when short and appropriate addresses were delivered by 
J. Lee, D. Lee, A. Beers, W. H. Wilson and Dr. White. 
Twelve new members were added, and a most satisfac- 
tory influence was gained for the cause of temperance. 

On Sabbath, the 16th of July, a large assembly for 
Oregon convened in the pleasant grove of firs, in front 
of the mission house, for the purpose of religious worship. 
The services were conducted by Rev. Daniel Lee, and 
commenced by his uniting in lawful matrimony, accord- 
ing to the form laid down in the Methodist Discipline, 
the Rev. Jason Lee with Miss Ann Maria Pitman, Cyrus 
Shepard with Miss Susan Downing, and Charles Roe 
with Miss Nancy, an Indian girl of the Calapooa tribe. 
This was followed by an appropriate discourse, and the 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It was a season of 
thrilling interest to all present. Two persons who pro- 
fessed to have recently experienced the comforts of reli- 
gion, united with the church, and one of them, though 
brought up a Quaker, was baptized, and both partook of 
the sacrament. 



SJ© HISTORY OF 

No particular change took place in the mission in 
consequence of the arrival of the reinforcement, with 
the exception of the enlargement of its financial opera- 
tions. Two log houses, for the accommodation of the 
families, and a blacksmith shop, were immediately- 
erected. A short time after, a frame house was built, 
located one mile from the station back from the river, 
and w^as occupied by the family of Dr. White. This 
was the only comfortable house as yet owned by the 
mission. During the same season Mr. Lee bought out a 
Frenchman who had built a small house, and opened a 
farm so near the mission premises as to be much in the 
way. By this purchase the mission enlarged its farm- 
ing improvements, and having now a large band of 
cattle, resulting from the California expedition, Mr. 
Josiah Whitcomb was employed by the mission to take 
charge of the farming operations, as it was impossible 
for the Lees to attend to them and look after the 
spiritual w^ants of the people. 

The number of children and adults in the mission 
continued to increase, notwithstanding the numerous 
deaths that had taken place, until the average number 
attending the day and sabbath school w^as from thirty to 
thirty-five. The school was under the judicious man- 
agement of Cyrus Shepard, and at this period was in a 
very flourishing condition. The scholars were taught 
the English language, and made rapid proficiency in 
reading, writing, spelling, geography, and arithmetic. 

As the sickly season came on, some of the missionaries 
performed two tours through the country, for the benefit 
of their health. On the 2d of August, Mr. and Mrs. 
Lee and Mr. Shepard, accompanied by Mr. Desportes 
as a guide, started up the Wallamette river on horse- 
back, and journeying leisurely for several days, towards 
the south, took a circuit eastward, and striking the head 
waters of the Molala river, followed down that stream 
to the north, towards where it forms a junction with 
the Wallamette. Crossing the latter river at Champoeg, 
they returned in safety to the mission, after an absence 
of ten days. They saw and imparted instruction to a 



THE OREGON MISSION. 27 

few bands of Indians on their route, and returned with 
reanimated health. 

On the 14th of August, Mr. J. Lee and Mr. C. Shep- 
ard, with their wives, accompanied by Joseph Gervais 
as guide, left the mission to perform a land journey to 
the Pacific coast. They traveled one day and a half, 
through a very beautiful and fertile country, crossing 
the Wallamette and Yamhill rivers, and encamped the 
second night at the foot of the mountains which separate 
the Wallamette valley from the Pacific ocean. Next 
day they commenced crossing the mountains, but found 
the trail exceedingly difficult, on account of the abrupt- 
ness of the ascending and descending, and the numerous 
large trees that had fallen across it. This rendered 
their progress very slow, and the third night they 
encamped in a deep, dark valley, among the mountains, 
twelve miles from the shore. During the night it was 
very rainy, and also the following day ; but they moved 
camp in the morning, and at 5 p. m. pitched their tent 
in a beautiful cypress grove, within a short distance of 
the shore, so that their encampment commanded a fine 
view of the broad expanse of the Pacific ocean. 

Here they continued for one week, visiting the Kille- 
mook Indians, who inhabit that portion of the country, 
and preaching to them as they were able. They 
enjoyed the clams and other shell-fish, which they pro- 
cured from the delightful sandy beach, and invigorated 
themselves by frequent bathing in the salt water. On 
the 26th, they left their pleasant encampment, and after 
four days' toil in crossing the mountains, jumping the 
logs, fording the streams, and traveling over the prai- 
ries, they arrived at the mission, after an absence of 
sixteen days. They were better qualified, from the 
improvement of their health, to pursue the business of 
their calling. 

On the 4th of September following, Mr. Daniel Lee 
and Mr. Shepard started for Vancouver on business, 
and arrived there on the 6th. On the following day, a 
canoe arrived at Vancouver, direct from the mouth of 
the river, bringing the Rev. Daniel Leslie and Rev. H. 



28 HISTORY OP 

K. W. Perkins, who had recently entered the river, in 
the ship Sumatra. They, with Mrs. Leshe and three 
children, and Miss Margaret Smith, constituted a second 
reinforcement to the Oregon mission. They sailed from 
Boston on the 20th of January, 1837, and reached the 
place of their destination, on the Wallamette river, the 
20th of September. Soon after the arrival of Mr. Per- 
kins, a union betwixt himself and Miss Elvira Johnson, 
who came out in the former reinforcement, which had 
been long in contemplation, was consummated. They 
were married on the 21st of November, 1837, by Rev. 
David Leslie. 

On the 25th of December, a general meeting was 
called at the mission house, and an Oregon Missionary 
Society was formed. A liberal subscription was raised, 
to be expended the ensuing year, for the benefit of the 
Calapooa Indians. 

At the close of this year, the missionaries were all 
residing at or near the Wallamette station, and were 
laboring in their respective departments, not without 
effect, some in sustaining the interests of the mission 
school, some in preaching to the Calapooas, and the 
white settlements, some in different mechanical branches, 
and some in taking care of the farm and the rapidly 
increasing stock of cattle and horses. Several members 
of the mission school had died during the year, and 
mortal diseases unceasingly prevailed among the Indians 
throughout the country; yet, in view of all the circum- 
stances of the case, the missionaries were encouraged, 
and began to take measures for the enlargement of their 
operations. 

Attending to the interests of the temperance cause, 
Mr. J. Lee set out, soon after the 1st of January, on an 
exploring tour to the Umpqua country, in company with 
Mr. Birnie, one of the traders of the Hudson's Bay 
Company. This country lies some two hundred miles 
south of Vancouver, and it was reported to contain 
several thousand Indians, and as offering a fine field for 
missionary operations. The late rains had swollen the 
rivers and creeks to such a degree, that it was almost 



THE OREGON MISSION. 29 

impossible for Mr. Lee to proceed; yet, after several 
days of toilsome and dangerous journeying, through the 
mud and rain, and fording the rapid streams that crossed 
his path, he succeeded in reaching the trading post of 
the Hudson's Bay Company, situated on the Umpqua 
river, forty miles above its mouth. The information he 
received here was of an encouraging nature, and such 
was the difficulty of traveling, that he resolved to 
extend his observations no farther. Accordingly he 
returned to the Wallamette, where he arrived on the 
11th of March, 1838, under the impression that, so soon 
as a competency of missionaries could be provided, a 
station should be established somewhere in the Umpqua 
valley. 

About this time, a meeting of all the missionaries, 
preachers, and laymen was called, to consult on the 
subject of establishing a new station; and, after the 
merits of several portions of the country were presented, 
it was unanimously resolved, that a mission be com- 
menced at the Balls, on the Columbia river, about ninety 
miles above Vancouver. Daniel Lee and H. K. W. 
Perkins were appointed by the superintendent to the 
new mission. They left the Wallamette station, to 
repair to their new field, on the 14th of March, Mr. 
Perkins leaving his wife behind, until they could make 
arrangements for the convenience of a family. 

Before Daniel Lee and Mr. Perkins left the Walla- 
mette, a general consultation was held on the subject of 
a still greater enlargement of the missionary work, in 
Oregon. In the estimation of the meeting, "the harvest 
was plenteous and the laborers were few." The Umpqua, 
Killamook, Klikitat, Clatsop, Chenook, Nezqualy, and 
many other tribes, were destitute of missionaries ; and 
in view of these different stations, and the general wants 
of the country, they passed a unanimous resolution, ad- 
vising the Rev. Jason Lee to make a visit to the United 
States for the purpose of representing before the Board 
of Managers of the Missionary Society of the M. E. 
Church and the public generally, the true condition of 
the country, and of the Indians, and soliciting the men 



30 HISTORY OF 

and means which, in their judgment, were necessary, 
for the successful prosecution of the missionary work. 

Mr. Lee concurred in the opinions thus expressed by 
the members of the mission, and accordingly took leave 
of his wife and brethren on the Wallamette, on the 26th 
day of March, 1838, and commenced the long and 
hazardous journey back across the Rocky mountains. 
He was accompanied by P. L. Edwards, of the mission, 
a Mr. Ewing, of Missouri, and two Indian boys of the 
Chenook tribe, called Wm. Brooks and Thos. Adams. 
It was a trying scene when Mr. Lee took his departure 
from his companions in labor and suffering in Oregon, 
and the more so from the consideration that he was 
leaving his beloved wife, to whom he had been married 
less than a year ; but in his opinion, it was his duty to 
return, and call for fellow-laborers ; and, though worldly 
interests and enjoyments demanded his continuance in 
Oregon, yet he practised on the principle, that all such 
things should give place to considerations of duty. 

It was the first of April before Mr. Lee found himself 
prepared to take his departure from Vancouver, towards 
the Rocky mountains ; but before we follow him in his 
toilsome and perilous journey home, we will contem- 
plate some of the circumstances which were transpiring 
among those whom he had left in the valley of Oregon. 

On the 21st of April Rev. H. K. W. Perkins arrived 
at the mission from the Balls, and brought a favorable 
report from the new station. The Indians are known 
by the name of the Wasco tribe, and they call the place 
where they live, Wascopam. They were found to 
number from twelve to fifteen hundred ; were much 
pleased with the idea of the establishment of a mission 
among them, and were willing to assist in preparing a 
place for the accommodation of the missionaries. 

On the 26th of April, Mr. and Mrs. Perkins left the 
Wallamette in a canoe manned by Indians, to take up 
their residence at Wascopam. The voyage from the 
Wallamette station to the Balls, was first down the 
Wallamette river the distance of seventy miles to its 
mouth, and then up the Columbia river the distance of 



THE OREGON MlSSIONi. 31 

ninety-five miles. Both rivers are dangerous, in conse- 
quence of the numerous rapids, but after several days 
of exposure and fatigue, Mr. and Mrs. Perkins arrived 
in safety at the Dalls, and by the assistance of Mr. D. 
Lee and the Indians, soon established themselves in 
comfortable quarters. Mr. D. Lee had already acquired 
a knowledge of the Chenook language as spoken in the 
vicinity of Vancouver, v^hich the Wascoes generally 
understood, and could preach immediately to the Indians 
without the aid of an interpreter. As the Walla- Walla 
tribe was contiguous, and their language understood by 
many of the Dalls Indians, Mr. Perkins, in addition to 
learning the Chenook, applied himself to the acquire- 
ment of the Walla- Walla, and it was not long before he 
could preach to the Indians in both languages. The 
plan adopted was to circulate among the Indians, and 
preach to them wherever they could be found ; and 
from the reception which the missionaries met, and the 
apparent attention given to the gospel, seldom was there 
ever an Indian mission established under more favorable 
auspices. 

Things moved on quite prosperously in all the depart- 
ments, under the direction of Rev. David Leslie, whom 
Mr. Jason Lee had appointed his substitute during his 
absence, until the 26th day of June, when an event 
transpired among the little band on the Wallamette, 
which, from the circumstances attending it, threw a 
gloom over the hitherto cheering aspects of the mission. 
Ann Maria, wife of the Rev. Jason Lee, gave birth to a 
son on the 6th of June, which she was doomed to see 
expire a few days afterwards. At the time of its death 
unfavorable symptoms appeared in Mrs. Lee, and on 
Tuesday, the 26th, at six o'clock A. M., she calmly closed 
her eyes in death. The following day the afflicted band 
of missionaries committed to the grave the remains of 
this youthful mother, with her httle son clasped in her 
arms. When this took place Mr. Lee had been absent 
three months, and was far on his way to the United 
States ; but through the kindness of Dr. McLaughlin, 
an express was sent off immediately, to carry to Mr. 



32 HISTORY OF 

Lee the sad tidings of the death of his companion. It 
was about the first of September when Mr. Lee arrived 
at the Methodist mission among the Shawnees, on the 
frontiers of Missouri, then under the superintendence 
of Rev. Mr. Johnson, and having retired to his room, 
late in the evening, he was offering up a tribute of 
thanksgiving to Him who had been his preserver while 
on his toilsome journey through the hostile tribes of the 
mountains, when he heard a rap at his door. Rising, he 
admitted the stranger, who placed a package of letters 
in his hands, and immediately left the room. He broke 
the black seal of one, and the first line conveyed to him 
the heart-rending intelligence that his Ann Maria, and 
her little son, were numbered with the dead. Leaving 
the afflicted missionary to indulge his grief alone, we 
return to review other scenes in the valley of the 
Columbia. 

On the 14th da,y of August, information w^as received 
in the Wallamette, that Mrs. Perkins, at the Balls, was 
very sick, and stood in great need of medical aid, and 
other assistance. Accordingly Rev. D. Leslie, Dr. L 
Bailey, and Mrs. White with her little daughter then 
eight months old, embarked for the Dalls in a canoe 
manned by Indians, and six days afterward arrived 
there in safety. In the mean time Dr. Whitman, from 
the mission in the interior, had visited Mrs. P., and 
when the company arrived froni the Wallamette, her 
health was nearly restored ; consequently, on the morn- 
ing of the 22nd, Mr. Leslie and Mrs. White left the 
Dalls to return home. They descended the Columbia 
to the cascades the first day, and the next morning 
made a portage of some three miles, and again all 
were seated quietly in the canoe, and the Indians struck 
out into the strong current. Below them were rapids 
which, in consequence of the high water, were worse 
than they anticipated. The river at this place is about 
one mile and a half wide, and the canoe was about one- 
third of a mile from the nearest shore. They saw the 
dashing of the waters before them, but such was the 
strength of the current that already bore them down, 



THE OREGON MISSION. 33 

that it was impossible to shun the dangerous point. 
Soon the canoe was carried among the rolHng surges, 
filled, capsized, and instantly all were plunged into the 
frightful gulph. Mr. Leslie, on rising to the surface of 
the river, thought of Mrs. White, and seeing her be- 
neath his feet, immediately plunged after her, if possible 
to bring her to the surface. He caught hold of her 
clothes, and came up to the surface, struggled for a 
moment to keep her above the water, but was obliged 
to relinquish his hold. He now thought that by giving 
her up he might possibly save his own hfe, but it then 
occurred to him that she was entrusted to his care, and 
at once resolving to do his best to save her if he died in 
the attempt, plunged after her again, and seizing her 
clothes, brought her to the surface. Discovering the 
canoe drifting but a short distance from him, bottom up, 
he soon regained it, and got hold of the hand of an Indian, 
who had risen on the other side of the canoe, and suc- 
ceeded in keeping the head of Mrs. White above the 
water. By this time they had been carried by the 
current partly across the river towards the farther 
shore; and fortunately some Indians were on that side 
with a canoe, who, on discovering their situation, imme- 
diately put off to their relief. These friendly natives 
took them into their canoe, and then taking the capsized 
canoe in tow, succeeded in gaining the shore. All were 
safe but the babe; that was missing, but on righting the 
canoe, it was found to have drifted along with it to the 
shore, but the vital spark had fled. They were forty 
miles distant from a civilized habitation, but the Indians 
kindly profiered to take them into their canoe, and 
carry them down to Vancouver. Wrapped in their 
wet blankets, with the corpse of the Httle infant lying 
in one part of their canoe, they descended to that place, 
where they had all the assistance afforded them which 
sympathy could devise, or their distressed circumstances 
demand. On Friday, the 24th, they left Vancouver, and 
on Satui'day evening they arrived at the Wallamette, 
and the following day deposited the body of the infant 
in the mission burving grounds, Mr. Leslie improving 
2 



34 HISTORY OF 

the occasion by an appropriate discourse founded on 
Deut. viii. 6: ^*0, how wonderful in working is our 
God, and his ways past finding out. " 

Thus the missionaries were constantly exposed. If 
they passed from one portion of the country to another, 
they were obliged to commit themselves in their frail 
craft, to the treacherous element, or travel by land 
through hostile tribes of savages. 

Mr. Grey, of the mission in the interior, made about 
this time a hair breadth escape. While on his way 
from the Rocky mountains to Missouri, with one or 
two white men and a number of Indians, he was attacked 
by a band of Sioux warriors ; his Indians were all 
killed, and himself w^as twice wounded by musket balls. 
While he and the white men with him were making 
their escape on horseback, across a river, the Indians 
fired at them from the shore, and a ball passed through 
the hat of Mr. Grey, cutting the hair from the top of 
his head. The white men escaped with one horse 
apiece, having been robbed of every thing besides. 

About the first of September, Rev. Daniel Lee left 
the Dalls with a party of Indians, to go to the Walla- 
mette station by land across the Cascade mountains, to 
ascertain whether it would be practicable to drive back 
a small band of cattle for the accommodation of the 
mission farm. Supposing that a week would be the 
longest time that it would require to perform the jour- 
ney, he took provisions to last him only during that 
time ; but in consequence of the extreme difficulty of 
the traveling through the dense thickets, over the high 
mountains, up and down the precipices, and fording the 
rapid streams, it required twice as long as he antici- 
pated. Consequently they consumed all their provisions, 
and after going hungry for some length of time, they 
were driven to the necessity of killing a poor, jaded 
horse, on the flesh of which they supported themselves 
till they arrived at the Clakamas, where they procured 
salmon, having consumed the last morsel of their horse 
that very day. Not at all discouraged by these diffi- 
culties, Mr. Lee resolved to drive the caUle through, 



THE OREGON MISSION. 35 

and engaging two men from the settlement to accompany 
him, he started with his band on the 26th of September. 
After ten days of excessive labor and fatigue, he arrived 
safely at Wascopam without loss. This measure for 
stocking the little farm they had opened at the Dalls, 
was adopted by the missionaries for the purpose of 
securing, at less expense, the means of subsistence. 

In the month of December of this year the Rev. D. 
Leslie had the misfortune of losing his house, and most 
of his furniture, bedding, clothing, &c., by fire. This 
loss was the more severely felt, as it was difficult in that 
new country to replace the articles destroyed. 

At the close of this year the mission school under the 
care of Cyrus Shepard, had increased to nearly forty 
scholars, notwithstanding the fearful mortality that 
reigned among the children. About one-third of all 
that had been received up to this period, had died, and 
most of the remainder were in a sickly condition. At 
this time Mr. Shepard was obliged to give up the care 
of the school, in consequence of personal affliction. A 
swelling appeared on one of his knees, which at first 
created but httle concern, but at length assumed a very 
alarming aspect. All the medical and surgical skill of 
the country were expended upon him to no purpose ; 
the limb was amputated, but it was too late to save life. 
Death ensued a short time after the operation. In Mr. 
Shepard the mission lost one of its most valuable mem- 
bers, a fond wife was bereft of a kind and faithful 
companion, and two little girls were rendered fatherless. 

Soon after this event, by an arrangement of the mis- 
sion, Dr. Elijah White connected with his professional 
duties, the care of the mission school ; and the business 
of the various departments proceeded as usual through 
the winter. 

At the Dalls a great religious excitement prevailed 
among the Indians through the labors of D. Lee and H. 
K. W. Perkins. This excitement extended fifty or 
seventy-five miles along the Columbia river, chiefly 
among the Wasco and Chenook Indians, of whom more 
than one thousand hi the course of a few weeks appa- 



36 HISTORY OF 

rently embraced the christian rehgion. Such were the 
evidences of a genuine change in these Indians, that the 
missionaries, after witnessing their praying habits for a 
few weeks, baptized them, and received them formally 
into the church. They were then formed into classes, 
and stated preaching was established in the different 
villages where they resided ; and for the time being the 
hearts of the missionaries were encouraged, from be- 
holding the apparently happy success with w^hich their 
labors were crowned. 

On the Wallamette also, under the labors of Rev. D. 
Leslie, a revival of religion took place among the white 
settlers, the Hawaiians, who were in the employment of 
the mission, and the Indians connected with the mission 
school. A number of each class were converted and 
received into the church. 

While these things were transpiring in Oregon, Rev. 
J. Lee was zealously employed in accomphshing the 
objects of his visit to the United States. He arrived in 
the city of New York about the first of November, and 
on the 14th he was present at a meeting of the Mission- 
ary Board, and stated at length the object of his visit. 
He urged with much earnestness the importance of 
extending the missionary work in Oregon ; and in view 
of this he plead with great zeal the necessity of sending 
to that country a large reinforcement. In his opinion it 
was essential, for the prosperity of the mission, to sup- 
ply it with the requisite means to furnish itself with 
food, buildings, etc. ; and all the necessary implements 
for husbandry, and mechanical purposes, should be sent 
out by the Board. To meet all these demands would 
require a very heavy outlay, and for this and some other 
reasons, Mr. Lee met with warm opposition from some 
of the members of the Board, who sincerely doubted 
the expediency of the measure ; but the superintendent, 
who had just come from the field of operation, perse- 
veringly and powerfully urged the claims of the mission, 
and, sustained by Dr. Fisk, Dr. Bangs and others, finally 
succeeded in obtaining from the Board all, yea more 
than he demanded ; for in his opinion but two ministers 



THE OREGON MISSION. 37 

were required, but in the estimation of a majority of 
the Board, if there were to be as many laymen sent out 
as Mr. Lee called for, two ministers would not be suffi- 
cient. Accordingly, on the 6th of December, 1838, the 
Board passed a resolution to send to Oregon five addi- 
tional missionaries, one physician, six mechanics, four 
farmers, one missionary steward, and four female teach- 
ers ; making in all thirty-six adult persons. These 
were all selected and appointed within a few months, the 
laymen by Dr. Bangs and Mr. Lee, and the missionaries 
by the Bishop having charge of the Foreign missions. 
The appointments took place from various parts of the 
United States, the New England, NewYork, Troy, Gene- 
sec, Illinois, and North Carolina Conferences contributing 
more or less, to make the numbers of the reinforcement 
complete. During the summer of 1839, Mr. Lee, at- 
tended by Wm. Brooks and Thomas Adams, the two 
Indian boys whom he brought with him, traveled quite 
extensively through the New England and Middle 
States, holding missionary meetings in all the important 
places, and collecting funds for the Oregon mission. 
His success was unparalleled, and an interest was excited 
throughout the land amounting to enthusiasm. Crowds 
thronged to see and hear the pioneer missionary beyond 
the Rocky mountains, and the converted Indians who 
accompanied him. Liberal collections were taken up 
for the Oregon mission in almost every place, and these, 
with the appropriations of the Board for the purchase of 
goods, amounted to forty thousand dollars. Furnished 
with all kinds of tools for agricultural and mechanical 
purposes, and with the necessary articles for the con- 
struction of a saw-mill and grist-mill, the great rein- 
forcement, with Mr. Lee at their head, at length found 
themselves ready for sea. 



CHAPTER 11. 

Journal of a voyage from New York to Oregon — Time and circumstances of departure 

— First evening — Last look at the Highlands — Initiatory rites — Great distress 

— Sea-sickness indescribable — Fourth day — Captain Spaulding — First and 
second officers — Passengers in the cabin — Character of the expedition — First 
Sabbath at sea — Police regulations — A rich treat — Centenary meeting — Results 

— Vessel ships a sea — Wind mcreases — Tremendous gale — North- East trade — 
Description of the trades — Whale — Allowance of Water — Porpoise — Vessel — 
Amusing surprise — Astronomy — Northern constellations — Magellanic clouds — 
Interesting Sabbath — Land, ho ! — Cape Frio — Lighthouse — Splendid scenery 

— Arrival at Rio de Janeiro — Historical sketch — Don John — Brazil indepen- 
dent — Don Pedro the first — Compelled to abdicate — State of the country — 
Foreign residents — Religion — City — Buildings — Missionaries — Slavery — Re- 
flections. 

It was in the evening of the 9th day of October, 1839, 
that a company of fifty-two persons, sixteen of whom 
were children, were collected together on the quarter 
deck of the ship Lausanne, which then lay quietly in the 
bight, betwixt the east coast of New Jersey and Sandy 
Hook. The preceding day had been one of most thrill- 
ing interest to every person composing that excited, 
though confiding, group. They had bidden, as they all 
then supposed, a last adieu to the land of their nativity; 
and all the endearing ties that bound them to home and 
friends, had been surrendered. In their hearts burned 
an intense desire to become the instruments of intro- 
ducing the blessnigs of religion and civilization, to the 
benighted heathen in a foreign land; and for this purpose 
they had resolved upon braving the dangers of the deep, 
and to endure the difficulties and deprivations incident to 
a residence in a heathen land. 

It fell to the lot of the writer to be associated with 
this self-denying band, to mingle with them while they 
lingered on their native shore, as if loth to make the 
sacrifice, to witness them, as, at the given signal, they 



VOYAGE TO OREGON, 39 

hastened to commit themselves to that frail bark, which 
was destined to become their prison home for so many- 
tedious days and stormy nights, and, with them, to share 
the perils of a voyage of more than twenty-two thousand 
miles. 

Before we take our departure from Sandy Hook, the 
reader w^ill expect to be entertained with some of the 
principal events which took place the day preceding the 
evening on which these voluntary exiles were for the 
first time assembled on the deck of the Lausa.nne. 

The m.orning rose beautiful and serene, with not a 
cloud to obscure the rising sun, and not a breath of 
wind to ruffle the surface of the waters. It was at nine 
o'clock of this day, when, by a previous arrangement, 
the mission family, attended by their beloved friends of 
New York and vicinity, assembled at White Hall Dock, 
at the foot of Broadway, where lay the steamboat Her- 
cules, which had been engaged to take the passengers to 
the Lausanne, which then lay in East River, and then 
to tow the ship down through the Narrow^s, into the 
vicinity of Sandy HooL Two hundred and fifty per- 
sons, who had endeared themselves to our hearts by 
their kindness and solicitude for our welfare, accom- 
panied us on the steamboat, when we embarked, and 
among them were the Rev. N. Bangs, D. D., and the 
Rev. Dr. Anderson, the former being the secretary of 
the Missionary Society of the M. E. C, and the latter, 
the secretary of the A. B. C. F. M. 

It was precisely fifteen minutes past ten o'clock, when 
the signal was given for the boat to leave the wharf, 
and, in a few moments, we were along side the Lausanne, 
while the multitude that lined the shore, were invoking 
many blessings on our entei'prise, and by words and 
signs were bidding us a last farewell. 

The ship was immediately fastened to the boat, and 
we were speedily gliding down the beautiful harbor of 
New York, first looking back upon the city, whose 
hundred gilded steeples were flashing in the sun light, 
and then upon immense shipping, crowded for miles up^ 
and down the East and North rivers; now looking for 



40 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

a moment upon Castle Garden, Governor's Island, the 
North CaroUna seventy-four, Brooklyn, the Fort, and 
then upon the Jersey shore. Long Island coast, Staten 
Island, v^^ith all its delightful scenery; and every thing 
within the range of our vision was gazed upon with so 
much the more interest, as they belonged to our own 
native country, and, in all probability, we were to see 
them no more. 

The time that elapsed from our leaving the wharf, till 
the steamboat left us to return, was full of deep and 
lively interest. The conversation was fraught with the 
most intense feeling and anxiety, which were manifested 
ever and anon, by floods of tears, and expressions of the 
most ardent wishes for our welfare and success. The 
hymns that were sung were remarkably appropriate, and 
tended to increase the flame already burning on the altar 
of every heart. The religious services, conducted by 
Dr. Bangs, Dr. Anderson, and the ReV. Mr. Davis, 
were pecuHarly solemn and affecting, and closed by the 
baptism of the infant son of the Rev. J. P. Richmond, 
who was christened " Oregon," the name of the country 
to which we were bound. While yet the impressions 
which these services had made upon all present were 
the most lively and tender, it was announced that the 
two vessels must separate. At this time all the missiona- 
ries, with their attendants, were on the steamboat. We 
had passed the Narrows, and were rapidly approaching 
Sandy Hook, when the parting scene commenced. Now 
parents and children, brothers and sisters, and friends 
and acquaintances, embraced each other for the last 
time on earth, and amidst tears, prayers and farewells, 
the missionaries passed from the boat to the deck of the 
Lausanne. The grapplings were immediately cast off*, 
and the Hercules sailed gracefully around us, while from 
each deck the emblems of purity and affection, snow 
white handkerchiefs, were fluttering in the air, until by 
a point of Long Island, at the Narrows, the vessels were 
hidden from each other's sight. 

Though there was no wind to favor us, an ebb tide 
carried us slowly down to the usual anchorage, inside of 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 41 

Sandy Hook, where we were glad to have a Uttle time 
to arrange our cabin and state room affairs, before going 
to sea. 

The evening of the day of embarkation was serene 
and peaceful, and after the stirring events of the day had 
been rehearsed by the passengers assembled on the deck 
of our noble vessel, all repaired quietly to their berths, 
and, after a good night's rest, arose on the morning of 
the 10th of October, in good health and spirits, for their 
voyage. At half past six o'clock in the morning, we 
weighed anchor, and spreading our canvass to a gentle 
western breeze, were carried majestically past the Hook, 
and were soon tossed upon the waves of the broad 
Atlantic. 

The passengers were all immediately called upon to 
perform the initiatory rites to which all have to submit, 
who, for the first time, invade the dominions of Neptune. 
This, however, did not prevent many from taking a last 
look of the Highlands of Never Sink, which disappeared 
in the smoky distance at three o'clock in the afternoon 
of the first day. In passing through this terrible ordeal 
of initiation, there are occasional intervals of relaxation, 
and on Sunday, the 13th, the "North-Easter," which had 
been blowing from the first day out, lulled ; a calm suc- 
ceeded, and operated like a charm upon the sick inmates 
of the Lausanne ; for all so far recovered as to be able 
to present themselves on the quarter deck. 

As we are now on the fourth day out fairly under 
way, having lost sight of land, and experienced one 
severe storm, and, for the first lime since leaving Sandy 
Hook, collected on the deck of the vessel, the reader 
will expect a more particular account of the company 
to w^hich, collectively, he has already been introduced. 
Embracing the officers and crew, there were seventy- 
five souls on board, fifty-three of whom were passengers. 
The ship was commanded by Capt. Spaulding, who had 
been employed by the owners, Farnham & Fry, in 
view of his qualifications, to take charge of such an 
expedition, for so long a voyage. Twenty years' expe- 
rience as master of a vessel, had established the captain's 
2* 



42 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

reputation as a skillful navigator, which, in connexion 
with his general kuidness to the passengers, and his 
efforts to make them as comfortable as their crowded 
condition on the vessel would admit, proves that the 
selection, if not the best that could have been made, 
was as good as could have been reasonably expected. 
The first and second mates, though wanting in strict 
morality, were excellent seamen, and well understood 
the business of navigation. The second mate, Mr. 
Coffin, had performed eight voyages around Cape Horn. 

The crew were composed of English, Americans, 
Irish, Germans, Danes, and Swedes. This variety was 
selected, as the captain said, because among such a 
crew it is less difficult to preserve order, than it is with 
a crew exclusively Americans. 

Finding ourselves thus officered and manned, and 
witnessing the management of our vessel through one 
protracted storm, we concluded that, extraordinaries 
excepted, we should be conducted in safety to the land 
of our destination. 

The passengers in the cabin, embracing, children, 
numbered fifty-four. Of these eight were ministers of 
the gospel ; seven of whom, namely, Jason Lee, J. H. 
Frost, A. F. Waller, W. W. Kone, G. Hines, L. H. 
Judson, J. L. Parrish and J. P. Richmond, were con- 
nected with the missionary expedition to Oregon ; and 
one, the Rev. Sheldon Dibble, was a Presbyterian mis- 
sionary, on his way to his field of labor, in the Sandwich 
Islands. We had one physician. Dr. J. L. Babcock, 
who had been appointed to take care of the health of 
the members of the mission, and all the remainder had 
been connected with the enterprise, by the appointment 
of the Missionary Board of the M. E. Church, as farm- 
ers, mechanics, and teachers, to labor for the promotion 
of religion and civilization, in the territory of Oregon. 
With the secular department of the work, two of the 
above named preachers, L. H. Judson, and J. L. Parrish, 
were also connected. 

The persons composing this, the largest expedition of 
the kind that had e^r sailed from our shores, presented 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 43 

a great variety in consequence of the extensive range 
of country from which they had been collected. Coming 
together from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, 
Maryland, North Carolina, Illinois, and Missouri, and 
bringing with them many of the different peculiarities 
of these several portions of our Union, it would not be 
surprising, confined as they were for so long a time, 
under circumstances pecuharly calculated to "try men's 
souls" if, from time to time, they came so far in collision 
with each other's views and prejudices, as to produce a 
momentary rupture. One striking trait, however, as 
difficult to exhibit as it is excellent in its influence, ap- 
peared in the conduct of the company huddled together 
in the cabin of the Lausanne. It was this ; a disposition 
to sacrifice self, for the promotion of the common weal. 
This excellency of character was fully manifested on 
the part of the ladies, of whom we had nineteen on 
board. 

Dismissing this general description of the company, I 
proceed to give a few of the incidents of our voyage, 
first, assuring the reader that long and tedious descrip- 
tions of the management and evolutions of the vessel, 
the peculiar technicalities of navigation, the clewing, 
handling, or reefing of sails, and the various phenomena 
which belong exclusively to the avocation of those who 
" go down to the sea in ships and do business on the 
great waters," will be studiously avoided. The seaman's 
vocabulary constitutes an unintelligible jargon to all 
landsmen ; and as this Journal is designed for the benefit 
of such as are not accustomed to the seas, this vocabu- 
lary will not be resorted to, except where it may be 
thought necessary to express the subject in a clearer 
light, or to render a description more full and explicit. 
Waiving all such explanations hereafter, and continuing 
directly on our voyage, in the regular course of events, 
I come now to give a description of our first Sabbath at 
sea. 

Though a storm had been raging for days, yet the 
Sabbath brought with it almost a perfect calm. In con- 
sequence of the sickness of the passengers no arrange- 



44 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

ments nad been made with regard to the services of the 
day ; but the weather being so fine, it was thought 
practicable, notwithstanding all had not recovered from 
their sickness, to have public worship. The Rev. Mr. 
Dibble having performed a number of voyages, was 
sufficiently inured to the motion of the vessel, to be able 
to preach ; and being requested to officiate, the passen- 
gers and some of the crew collected on the quarter 
deck, and listened to a most interesting, appropriate, and 
profitable discourse, from the words of the Apostle Paul: 
" For scarcely for a righteous man, will one die, yet 
peradventure for a good man, some would even dare to 
die." 

To many, it was a season '' of refreshing from the 
presence of the Lord ; " and we found our vessel to be 
none other than the "house of God, and the gate of 
Heaven. " In the evening, all that were able, came 
together on deck, for the purpose of holding a prayer 
meeting, and while the meeting was in progress, a fine 
breeze sprung up, and as the wind whistled through our 
rigging, the voice of prayer was ascending to the throne 
of God. The meeting closed, and all quietly retired to 
their berths, committing themselves to the care of Him 
who rides upon the wings of the wind, and who holds 
the mighty ocean in the hollow of his hand. Thus closed 
our first Sabbath at sea, leaving the delightful impression 
that we were not to be deprived of the privileges of the 
sanctuary, though far away amidst the solitude of the 
ocean. 

For the purpose of promoting harmony on board, in 
the evening of the 16th, rules were adopted, by a vote 
of the passengers, to regulate the police of the cabin 
during the voyage. These rules fixed the time of 
rising, the time for morning and evening prayers, the 
order to be observed at the table, and the course of ' 
conduct to be pursued with reference to the children. 
We found it to be as necessary to have law in our Uttle 
floating world, as it is on land; and the laws thus volun- 
tarily adopted, proved salutary in their influence, 
throughout the whole voyage. 



VOYAGE TO OREGOJJ. 45 

This arrangement was carried out, during the seven 
months of our confinement on the Lausanne, without 
deviation, except when the motion of the vessel was so 
violent as to render it altogether impracticable. Persons 
were also appointed to make arrangements for holding 
a centenary meeting, on board the vessel, and for pre- 
paring a journal of our voyage, to be sent back to New 
York, for publication in the C. A. Journal. 

On the 18th, it was determined that our meeting 
preparatory to the centenary, should be held on Mon- 
day, the 21st instant, at 10 o'clock, a. m., at which 
addresses should be delivered, and subscriptions soHcited. 
It was also resolved, that, in connection with our breth- 
ren throughout the world, we would meet together on 
the 25th inst., and celebrate the day in the following 
manner: 

Prayer meeting in the morning, preaching at 2 o'clock, 
and love-feast in the evening. 

On Monday, the 21st, a strong head wind prevailed, 
and the violence of the motion of the ship was so great, 
that the preparatory meeting was deferred until the 23d. 
Two addresses were delivered on the occasion, after 
which a subscription was taken, which, by a previous 
resolution, was to be appropriated for the moral eleva- 
tion of the Indians, west of the Rocky mountains. And, 
although we were floating upon the bosom of the deep, 
nearly a thousand miles from land, being in latitude 35 
degrees, 44 minutes, north, and longitude 55 degrees, 
15 minutes, w^est, yet it was a season of pecuhar interest; 
and the sense of obligation which all felt, in view of the 
benefits conferred upon them and the world, through 
the influence of Wesleyan Methodism, was exhibited by 
placing on the altar, by the missionaries, a thank offer- 
ing, amounting to six hundred and fifty dollars, twenty 
of which were contributed by the Presbyterian mission- 
ary, the Rev. S. Dibble. 

On the 25th, the centenary of Methodism was cele- 
brated on the Lausanne, according to previous arrange- 
ment; and, having been selected for the purpose, the 



46 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

writer endeavored to improve the occasion by a dis- 
course, from Zachariah, xiv. 6, 7, 8. 

While the interesting services of this day and evening 
were in progress, our gallant ship, by a strong breeze, 
was wafted over the rolling deep at the rate of nine 
knots an hour. 

Thursday, 3ist. All the passengers begin to prefer 
the deck to the cabin or state-rooms, and whether sick 
or well, storm or calm, they will make their appearance 
on deck several times a day, if they can possibly get out 
themselves, or get any one to assist them out. This 
preference arises first, from the heat of the cabin, which 
as we proceed south, is getting quite unendurable ; 
second, from the nauseous scent, which, at any time, 
would be disagreeable to the olfactories, and, to sea-sick 
stomachs, is truly repulsive; third, from the crowded 
condition of the cabin, there being a large number of 
chests, trunks, boxes, baskets and other things, scattered 
along the gangway and under the tables, so that it is 
almost impossible to find a place to set one's foot. This 
day an incident transpired, as disagreeable to some as it 
was a fruitful source of laughter to others. The wind 
had been blowing with increasing violence for a number 
of hours, and the sea had become unusually rough. By 
the mismanagement of the man at the wheel, the vessel 
shipped a tremendous sea, which came rushing over on 
the deck, and extended from the bow to the stern, and 
rose so high as to wet the lower part of the top sails. 
Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Hines and Mrs. Frost were on deck at 
the time, the two former too sick to hold up their heads, 
and the latter waiting upon them to some gruel. They 
were bolstered up in their chairs, which leaned back 
against the scuttle, with their faces to the windward, 
and received the whole weight of the huge sea, as it 
poured its overwhelming flood on the ship's deck. For 
a moment they scarcely knew whether they were in the 
ocean, or on the vessel, but when the flood passed over, 
they found cause for thankfulness in the fact, that, with 
their thorough drenching, they had received no serious 
injury. 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 41 

November 1st. The wind has gradually increased in 
strength since yesterday, and consequently the sea runs 
very high. Though I find myself so sick, in consequence 
of the violent motion of the vessel, that I loathe almost 
every thing my eyes behold, yet occasionally I draw 
myself up to the windward by ropes, and, looking over 
the bulwarks, contemplate the grandeur and sublimity 
of the mighty ocean, as she proudly and majestically 
rolls onward her mountain waves. During the night, 
we were called to encounter a severe gale. For forty- 
eight hours the wind had been blowing with increasing 
strength, attended occasionally w^ith rain. But early in 
the evening the sky became perfectly clear, and the 
stars glistened with unusual brightness, which gave 
indication that a still more violent blast awaited us. 
About midnight, at the loud and well understood call of 
the second officer, all hands were immediately on deck; 
for in the midst of a storm, every sailor is converted 
into a fearless hero. The Hstening sailors waited for a 
moment the word of command, when "Clew your main 
sheet; clew up your main top sail; handle your maintop 
gallant sail; clew your fore tack; close reef your fore 
top sail;" were heard above the roar of the winds and 
waves, and met with a prompt obedience. This being 
done, the captain was called, for the time was considered 
somewhat perilous. When the captain appeared on 
deck, the officer said to him, "There is a gale coming, 
sir, still more heavy than any thing we have had. Shall 
I not handle the foretop gallant sail, and lay to the galel" 
The captain hesitated a moment, when the mate cried 
out, " The fore top gallant sail must be taken in, sir, or 
lost in a minute." "Close reef your fore top gallant 
sail," was heard above the roar of the angry elements, 
and w^as obeyed with amazing promptness by the faith- 
ful sailors, who had been as quick as thought to every 
word of command. After the sails had all been taken 
in, except enough to keep the vessel steady, the man at 
the wheel was charged to "mind his weather helm." 
At this moment the whole fury of the blast was upon 
us. The sea was lashed to foam, and the wund, w^ith 



48 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

fitful gusts, swept angrily across our deck, and howled 
dismally through our rigging. At every blast of the 
tempest, the ship creaked in every joint, and, careening 
to the water's edge, swung her towering masts majesti- 
cally in the heavens. The huge waves came rolling 
ove-r our weather bow, and occasionally washed the 
entire length of our vessel. But the time had now 
arrived to lay to the wind. " Hard up !" thundered the 
watchful captain; " Hard up, sir !" replied the faithful 
helmsman. The gallant ship turned her face to the 
wind, and defied the fury of the storm. She lay upon 
the waves, apparently as light as a feather, and increased 
the confidence of all in her capacity, by the triumphant 
manner in which she rode out the gale. At 3 o'clock 
in the morning the wind slackened, and changing sud- 
denly into the west, brought us again on our course, 
and at four we were gliding over the billows, at the rate 
of nine knots an hour. 

On the morning of the 8th, we began to be affected 
by the north-east trade wind. There are two of these 
winds, one north and the other south of the equator, 
extending quite around the globe, with the exception of 
those intermediate spaces where they are broken off by 
land breezes. The trade north of the equator, called 
the north-east trade, commences between the 28th and 
30th degrees of north latitude, and continues to the 8th, 
the distance of twenty degrees. In sailing to the south, 
you begin to feel the south-east trade between the 3d 
and 4th degrees of north latitude. The intermediate 
space, consisting of a strip about five degrees, or three 
hundred miles wide, is the region celebrated on account 
of its variable winds, sudden squalls, and extended calms. 
Here vessels are sometimes detained, by dead calms, 
beneath the vertical rays of a burning sun, for forty or 
fifty days; and captains consider that a voyage across 
this region is unusually prosperous, if it is performed in 
one week. 

The south-east trade continues from the 3d degree 
north, to the 30th degree south of the equator; its cur- 
rent varying from the east to south by east. 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 49 

These winds are probably produced by two causes in 
connection. First, the constant tendency of the air to 
restore its equihbrium. The cold air of the poles rushes 
in towards the equator, and sets the heated and rarified 
air around the equator in motion, and the heat of the 
sun, upon the elastic air, has a tendency to increase the 
motion, by expanding the air; and thus a contention is 
produced betwixt the cold and heated air, the former 
exerting itself to supplant the latter, and vice versa. 
Second, the diurnal revolution of the earth on its axis. 
If it were not for these daily revolutions, these winds 
would blow direct from the poles to the equator, whereas 
their current now runs diagonally with that line. There 
is also a current in the ocean, which runs with the trade 
winds, and is evidently produced by the revolutions of 
the earth. These two causes combine to produce that 
regularity in these winds, without which it would be 
diliicult, if not impossible, to navigate the Atlantic and 
Pacific oceans. These important currents are called 
trade winds, because they are more favorable to com- 
merce, or trade, than all other winds that blow. 

In the afternoon of this day, the passengers were 
thrown into an excitement by the announcement, by the 
captain, of "a whale along side." No one had ever 
seen one of these monsters of the deep, and of course 
there was a general rush to the bulwarks, to get a 
glimpse of him before he should disappear. 

Even those who were still confined to their berths, 
by sea sickness, must be assisted on deck, to have a view 
of the whale. There were two of them, and they 
played around the vessel for an hour, and occasionally 
showed the entire length of their huge forms, above the 
surface of the water, thus giving all an opportunity to 
satisfy their curiosity concerning the largest of the 
inhabitants of the ocean. On the firing of a gun, they 
instantly disappeared. 

On the 19th, we were in the latitude of Monrovia, on 
the western coast of Africa, and within three hundred and 
fifty miles of that place. This is our nearest approach to 



50 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

the continent of Africa. In these latitudes vessels usually 
experience heavy falls of rain, so as to be able to reple- 
nish all their empty v^^ater casks; how^ever, v^e realized 
but Httle, and most of our exhausted casks remained 
dry. This subjected us to the inconvenience of being 
throw^n upon an allowance of v^^ater, v^hich v^as a pre- 
caution the captain said vv^as necessary to enter into, in 
order to make our v^ater hold out, till we should reach 
the port of Rio de Janeiro. We were here relieved 
from the monotony of our voyage, which began to be 
quite disagreeable, by a number of incidents always 
interesting at sea, and always described in the journals 
of voyagers. The first was the appearance of an im- 
mense school of porpoises. There must have been tens 
of thousands of them, as they appeared to cover hundreds 
of acres. They continued around the vessel for some 
time, leaping and bounding high out of the water in 
every direction. They are a warm blooded fish, and 
leap out of the water for the purpose of breathing. 
They are from three to five feet long, and weigh from 
one hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds. The 
second was, the being spoken by two French sloops of 
war. We had seen several vessels since leaving port, 
but none had approached near us, until the 21st of 
November, when, early in the morning, a French sloop 
of war, of twenty-four guns, came dashing on our stern, 
as if she intended to run us down. The stars and stripes 
were immediately flying from our spanker yard, to show 
Monsieur who we were. In response, the French colors 
were soon seen, streaming in the wind. After manoeu- 
ve'ring a little on our stern, she finally passed us to the 
windward within a few rods, presenting a remarkably 
fine appearance. The other vessel referred to was a 
sloop of eighteen guns, and spoke us on the 23d. She 
first appeared far to the windward, but bore down 
towards us, and fell on our stern about three miles off. 
After chasing us for several hours she finally succeeded 
in coming along side to the leeward, and, after we 
examined each other for a half hour or more, and passed 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 51 

through with the usual salutations of showing the colors 
of our respective nations, she bade us good bye, but 
allowed us to keep in sight of her during the day. 

On the morning of the 25th, before a strong south- 
east trade, at the rate of seven knots, we passed from 
the northern to the southern hemisphere. The following 
evening was remarkably dark, though calm and serene, 
and we were gliding almost imperceptibly along at the 
rate of three knots, before a gentle breeze, when, all at 
once, there appeared within ten feet of the vessel, 
floating on the water, a large fire, which flamed up 
several feet high, and appeared about three feet in 
diameter. The Rev. W. W. Kone first discovered this 
remarkable phenomenon, and with his exclamations of 
wonder at what it might be, a great excitement was 
produced among the passengers, while the captain 
appeared to be more at a loss to know w^hat this strange 
fire could mean, than any other. All w^ere gazing at it 
with intense interest, and many began to philosophize 
concerning it. Some said it was a remarkable collection 
of phosphorus; some called it electricity, and some one 
thing and some another. At length it began to be 
whispered that there was some trick about it, and finally, 
all the theories that had been advanced concerning it, 
laughable from their absurdities, fell to the ground, on 
the discovery of the fact that it was nothing but a burn- 
ing tar barrel, which the sailors had got permission from 
the captain to lower from the bow of the vessel, for the 
purpose of exciting the inquisitive curiosity of the pas- 
sengers. The incident, though trifling in its nature, for 
the time being was a source of considerable merriment. 

It was not a little interesting to us, as we proceeded 
southward, to witness new and magnificent constellations 
of stars rising to our view, and those near the north 
pole, with w^hich we had been familiar from our child- 
hood, sinking from our sight, below the northern horizon. 

The north polar star, which to us had ever been ele- 
vated more than forty degrees in the heavens, was lost 
behind the mountains of ice which rise in majestic gran- 
deur amid the Arctic ocean ; while the Great and Little 



52 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

Bear, the Great and Little Dog, Andromeda, Cassiopea, 
Taurus and Orion, were fast receding northward, to rise 
again to our view when we should approximate the lati- 
tudes over which we had sailed. But while we were 
leaving these old acquaintances of the hypoborean re- 
gions, new and no less interesting ones presented them- 
selves in the southern sky, to cheer us on our lonely 
voyage around the stormy cape. 

Among the celestial scenery of the south, there is 
nothing more interesting than those two remarkable 
spots in the heavens, which are known by the name of 
the Magellan clouds. These phenomena do not present 
the appearance of clouds, as their name would indicate, 
but they are quite luminous, resembling in their aspect 
the brightest spots in the Milky Way, and supposed, like 
the latter, to consist of innumerable stars, not discernible 
to the naked eye. They are situated near the south 
pole of the heavens, and are about fifteen degrees apart, 
the smaller being nearest the pole. In the diurnal revo- 
lutions of the earth, they each describe a circle round 
the pole, the diameter of the smaller circle being about 
fifteen, and that of the latter about twenty-five degrees. 
As there is no star at the south pole answering, to the 
southern hemisphere, the purpose that the north star 
serves to the northern, these clouds serve in navigating 
the South Pacific ocean. It is said by some that there 
is another cloud of a dark appearance not far distant 
from these, but of this we could see nothing. It is quite 
certain that no such dark cloud exists. These clouds 
derived their name from the distinguished navigator, 
who also gave his name to the straits leading from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, and separating Terra del 
Fuego from Patigonia. 

December 1st was the last Sabbath we spent before 
making the coast of Brazil, and as it was a fair sample 
of the manner in which all our pleasant Sabbaths were 
employed, the reader will perhaps be gratified with a 
short description of it. The day was inexpressibly fine ; 
a bland and reviving breeze tempered the rays of the 
vertical sun, and bore us almost imperceptibly over the 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 53 

gentle undulation of the deep. At the usual hour of 
worship in the temple of Jehovah on land, a bell was 
rung so as to be heard from the after cabin to the fore- 
castle, to call the people together ; and immediately 
sixtv-five persons were comfortably seated on the quar- 
ter Heck, beneath an awning, spread to intercept the too 
intense rays of the tropical sun. The minister for the 
occasion gave out the sublime hymn commencing 

" Before Jehovah's awful throne, " 

which was sung "with the spirit and with the under- 
standing also," to the immortal tune of *'01d Hundred." 
The voice of solemn prayer succeeded, and was followed 
by an appropriate sermon from the words, " They all 
with one consent began to make excuse. " At the close 
of the exercises all appeared to feel that, from whatever 
else they would be excused, they would not be excused 
from receiving the forgiveness of sins, the consolations 
of religion, hope in death, and everlasting Hfe. In the 
afternoon all assembled again, and listened to an interest- 
ing discourse from the text, " And they remembered his 
words. " The excellency and wisdom of the words of 
Christ, were dilated upon in such a manner as to impress 
all with the truth of the remark, that "He spake as 
never man spake. " The closing scene of this day's 
exercise was one of true sublimity. Surrounded with 
the darkness and stillness of evening, all again bowed 
down on the deck of the Lausanne, and offered up their 
fervent aspirations to the throne of God. The wind 
began to whistle through our canvass as we retired to 
our berths, feeling truly grateful for the privileges of 
the holy Sabbath, though enjoyed amidst the boundless 
wastes of the Atlantic. 

On leaving New York our course was nearly south- 
east until we approached the continent of Africa ; then 
making an angle, we sailed nearly south-west until we 
approached the coast of Brazil ; and it may be a matter 
of surprise to many, that we should sail so much out of 
our way, to get to the city of Rio Janeiro. The object 
of making so much easting was, first, to secure the 



54 VOYAGE TO OREGON, 

benefits of the north-east and south-east trade winds, and 
second, to avoid being driven by these winds and the 
currents of the ocean, to the northward of Cape St. 
Rogue, the easternmost point of land on the coast of 
Brazil. All vessels bound to the south of Cape St. 
Rogue pursue nearly the same track, and cross the 
equator between the twentieth and twenty-third degrees 
of west longitude. 

Early in the morning of the 8th of December, the 
cry of " Land, ho ! " brought most of the passengers 
immediately to the deck. The captain had remarked 
the evening previous, that we should see land in the 
morning to the north-east of us, if the wind continued 
in the same direction, which proved to be the case ; and 
the high bluffs of Cape Frio (cold cape) appeared in full 
view about twenty-five miles oflf. The sight of land 
was hailed with the utmost joy, it having been fifty-nine 
days since the high lands of Never vSink, the last land 
we saw, were hidden in the dim distance. As we pro- 
ceeded down towards Rio, the coast presented a grand 
and picturesque appearance, not vastly dissimilar to that 
of the mountains, as seen from the deck of a steamboat 
on the Hudson river. The day was calm, and the sky 
overcast with clouds, and many of the mountains reared 
their lofty heads above the strata of the lower clouds, 
so that these were seen lowering around the mountains, 
and presenting the appearance of vast quantities of 
smoke, rolling down their apparently smooth and conical 
sides. Our eyes being once more privileged with be- 
holding land, though at a distance, our attention was 
again called to the solemnities of the holy Sabbath. 

Monday, the 9th, we were hovering around the en- 
trance of the harbor of Rio de Janeiro. A slight breeze 
from land prevented us from proceeding directly into 
the harbor, and this gave us an opportunity to contem- 
plate the scenery of the shore. The preceding night 
had been one of unusual darkness, occasioned by the 
dense fog by which we were enveloped ; but this ren- 
dered the appearance of the revolving light, which came 
peering through the midnight gloom from the distant 
isle, still more delightful. 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 5& 

As the sun approached the meridian, and dissipated 
the mists of the morning, the land zephyr died away, 
and a gentle breeze from the ocean filled our already 
expanded sails, wafting us directly towards the harbor. 
As we approached the shore, the scenery presented to 
our view w^as beautifully grand, beyond description. 
On our left, the *' Sugar Loaf" mountain reared its lofty 
summit, to the height of eight hundred feet, sloping on 
the side towards the water, but perpendicular on the 
opposite; also, the island of serpentine rock, elevated 
several hundred feet, with the light-house resting on its 
top, and " Redonda," perfectly conical in its formation, 
being about fifty rods in diameter at its base, and rising 
more than five hundred feet; while, about ten miles in 
the distance, appeared a majestic mountain, whose cloud- 
capped summit towered to the height of three thousand 
feet above the ocean, and seeming to look down con- 
temptuously on every thing beneath. It is called the 
" Parrot's Beak." The main shore is very broken, some 
parts of it being elevated far above the rest, while the 
huge ''crags" on their rugged summits, appear to frown 
down upon the agitated waters, which dash harmlessly 
against their base. On our right, the mountainous coast 
could be distinctly seen the distance of sixty miles, to 
Cape Frio; while on our left, to a distance, if possible, 
still greater, pile after pile of huge, massy rocks were 
thrown together in the wildest confusion, rising thou- 
sands of feet above the level of the ocean, and, as they 
receded from us, appearing less and less, until, in the 
dim distance, they were lost from our sight. These, 
together with a view of the imperial city of Rio de 
Janeiro, lying quietly in the bosom of the bay of St. 
Janarius, conspired to give variety to the splendid pano- 
rama, by which, on entering the harbor, we found our- 
selves encircled. The grandeur and sublimity of the 
scene were worthy of the pencil of the most skillful 
artist, and truly enchanting to the lover of nature; and 
it was with the most thrilling emotions of delight, that 
we gazed upon the romantic and picturesque scenery 
before us. As we drew near the shore, the mountains 



5G VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

lining the entrance of the harbor, lost the sterile ap- 
pearance which they had presented from a distance, be- 
ing changed, by the beautiful verdure which covered 
their summits, into a delightful green. The valleys 
between the mountains were clothed with luxuriant 
evergreens, and here and there a round elevation pre- 
sented, in beautiful variety, a few cocoa-nut trees, 
which were scattered sparsely over them. Soon our 
attention was invited to animate nature. At the mouth 
of the channel, leading into the bay and harbor of Rio, 
is a very strong fortification, and the heads of armed 
men could be seen above the ramparts as we passed. 
We were hailed from this fort, as also from an armed 
vessel lying at a distance. From another fort, still 
nearer the city, a man bawled out, through a speaking- 
trumpet, requiring us to proceed no farther, but to bear 
oflf to the right and come to anchor, which we immedi- 
ately obeyed, although it subjected us to the inconve- 
nience of rowing one mile and a half, to gain the shore. 

It w^as two o'clock, p. m., of the 9th, when we came 
to anchor, and the rest of the day was spent in receiving 
those visits from government officers, which are required 
previous to their admitting any on shore. The gentlemen 
who visited us were intelligent and aftable, and, coming 
from a Roman Catholic government, were quite asto- 
nished to see so many priests on board, especially when 
they were informed that they all had wives. 

On the morning of the 10th, the captain, with six of 
the passengers, went ashore. We were, however, re- 
quired by the government, to pass along side an armed 
schooner, which was stationed in the harbor, for the 
purpose of giving them an opportunity to examine our 
baggage, to see that w^e had no contraband goods in our 
possession, which very unceremonious process, we were 
informed, we must submit to, as well when we returned 
from the shore to the vessel, as in passing from the 
vessel to the shore. As we were to lie here a number 
of days, we looked upon this custom-house arrangement 
as imposing upon us a useless and disagreeable task. 
Immediately on landing, we proceeded to the mercantile 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 5?? 

establishment of Gardiner & Campbell, who are English 
residents. Gardiner had formerly resided some time in 
the city of New York. Here we were soon met by the 
Rev. Justin Spaulding, who had resided in the place for 
three years, as a missionary of the Methodist E. Church, 
and from whom, in connection with his family, and the 
family of his colleague, the Rev. D, P. Kidder, (who 
himself was absent on an exploring tour to the north,) 
we met with a most cordial reception. We found them 
comm.odiously situated, in a large building, well furnished 
for their accommodation, and located in a retired part of 
the city o{ Rio de Janeiro, about one mile from the place 
of landing. Mr. Spaulding assured us that, though he 
could not furnish the whole company with beds, yet his 
rooms were open, and he should expect us to occupy 
them freely, by night and by day, while we remained in 
the place. And, indeed, all that christian love and 
kindness could do, these missionaries cheerfully per- 
formed, to render our stay with them happy and inte- 
resting. 

The splendid city of Rio de Janeiro, which is the 
capital of the Empire of Brazil, presents to voyagers to 
this portion of the world, an object of considerable 
interest. A better location for a commercial city can 
scarcely be imagined. It is surrounded by a country of 
vast extent, of inexhaustible fertility, and equal in re- 
sources to the most enlarged expectations. Its harbor is 
one of the best in the world. The entrance to it is 
narrow, though sufficiently deep to admit vessels of the 
largest size to pass with perfect safety, and then ex- 
tending out into a bay thirty miles long, and fifteen 
broad, and being favored almost every day with both 
land and sea breezes, which enable vessels readily to 
pass in and out, being of suitable depth for all sizes of 
vessels, and surrounded by mighty mountain barriers, 
which break off" the winds on every side. It is unques- 
tionably one of the safest and most commodious anchor- 
ages on the whole face of the globe. With these natural 
advantages to favor her, we might expect that Rio would 
have experienced a rapid growth from the time when 
3 



58 VOYAGL^ TO OREGON. 

Portugal planted her first colony on the borders of that 
lovely bay; but a mistaken policy, developed in many 
periods of her history, has tended greatly to retard her 
progress ; and, consequently, she continued compara- 
tively small until Don John, the Portuguese king, left 
the mother country, and removed to his Brazilian terri- 
tories, and built his palace within the precincts of this 
city. This circumstance transpired in 1803. 

At the present time the city is one of considerable 
extent. It contains one hundred and fifty thousand inha- 
bitants, of various nations, and of every shade of com- 
plexion. Here are some native Portuguese, more native 
Brazilians, a fev^ French, Africans, Jevi^s, Americans, 
and about one thousand English. 

The city lies in the form of a parallelogram, and some 
of the streets present a splendid appearance. The houses 
are principally built with stone, and are covered with 
tiles. Some of the buildings, and especially the royal 
palace, and some of the churches and convents, are 
splendid specimens of architecture ; but a great share of 
the city, however, appears like a vast assemblage of 
state prisons. Rio de Janeiro sufi:ers much in point of 
beauty and cleanliness, when compared with the cities 
of many of our Eastern and Middle States. It presents 
an antiquated and sombre aspect, without that appear- 
ance of fife and animation, which characterize the cities 
of the Anglo-Americans. 

The religious state of the city is truly deplorable. 
The Roman Catholic religion here exists in all its name- 
less mummeries and superstitions. "Strictly speaking," 
said a Protestant missionary who has resided three years 
in the city, " there is no religion here." This same 
missionary informed me that of all the people with 
whom he had become acquainted by three year's resi- 
dence among them, there were but two that he had the 
least reason to suppose were christians, in the proper 
sense of the word. 

But, if true religion consists in the erection of splendid 
cathedrals, and in decorating them with golden images, 
and the lambent flame of huge wax candles constantly 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 69 

burning, and with hangings of the finest embroidery; or, 
if it consists in convents, filled with priests and nuns, 
with all their attendant ceremonies and image worship, 
then Rio de Janeiro contains more than any other city I 
have ever visited. But, if it consists in a consecration 
of soul and body to God, and a life corresponding with 
the gospel of Christ, then, of the tens of thousands of 
Rio, who bear the christian name, how few are pious! 
how few will be saved ! ! But signs of a better state of 
things begin to show themselves in this bigoted city. 
The English residents have a minister among them, and 
have recently built a church, in which they statedly 
worship after the Protestant form. The Rev. J. Spaul- 
ding and the Rev. D. P. Kidder, of whom mention has 
been made, were laboring with energy and zeal, in the 
cause of their Divine Master, both in preaching the 
gospel and in the circulation of bibles and tracts. These 
missionaries w^ere frequently encouraged in their labors 
of love, by those evidences which appeared from time 
to time, that their efforts were not altogether in vain. 
An individual, through the influence of a tract, became 
dissatisfied with Popery, and came to Mr. Spaulding and 
earnestly enquired what he must do to be saved. Sub- 
sequently he partook of the sacrament of the Lord's 
supper with Protestants; but the Romish priests, having 
ascertained this, determined, at all hazards, to put a stop 
to his attending Protestant meetings. Accordingly, one 
morning, when this gentleman arose, he discovered a 
paper which had been pushed into his room under the 
door, during the night. He took up the paper and read 
in substance as follows: " Unless you desist from attend- 
ing these Protestant associations, you may expect to find 
yourself stabbed." This circumstance drove him almost 
to despair, but subsequently he indulged a hope in 
Christ, and discarded the Church of Rome ; but, from 
fear of falling a victim to the madness of bigoted and 
persecuting priests, his intercourse with the Protestants 
was carried on with the utmost secrecy. Thus the true 
leaven was working in spite of all the efforts made by 



60 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

the Papists to suppress it, and it was hoped that it would 
continue to work until the whole lump was leavened. 

The slavery of Rio is one of the most prominent 
characteristics which present themselves to the traveler, 
on arriving at this place. And, to those of us who had 
never seen slavery in its practical effects, it was "enough 
to make one's heart bleed," to witness these ill-fated sons 
of Ham driven about by their cruel task-masters, and 
compelled to perform their tasks in a state of almost 
perfect nudity, exposed to the burning rays of a vertical 
sun. As cruel, however, as Brazilian slavery appears to 
be at first sight, there are some mitigating circumstances 
connected with it, when compared with the slavery of 
some other countries. Unlike the laws in the Southern 
States of our Repubhc, which give the master the same 
control over his slaves that he has over any kind of pro- 
perty, those of Brazil guarantee to the slave a number 
of important privileges. First, the slave is required to 
labor for his master from morning until two o'clock, 
which is the business portion of the day ; and the re- 
mainder of the day he has to himself. Second, the slave 
is entitled, by law, to two days in each week to employ 
as he sees fit. These two provisions give the slave 
nearly one half of the time, and the property he accumu- 
lates, when thus at liberty, belongs to himself He is 
compelled, however, to procure his own food, without 
expense to his master. If, by industry or good fortune, 
he succeeds in obtaining his freedom, which is not an 
unfrequent occurrence, he is immediately entitled to all 
the privileges of a freeman, and his offspring are not 
liable to be enslaved. But, notwithstanding these exte- 
nuating circumstances connected with Brazilian slavery, 
it is a system of cruelty and oppression. The naked 
appearance of the slaves, the ponderous burdens they are 
compelled to bear, their frequent flagellations, and when 
worn out with fatigue, their lying around the streets 
and under the walls of buildings Hke cattle, and at other 
times like horses dragging around their drays, unmerci- 
fully loaded, all had a tendency deeply to excite our 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 61 

sympathies for suffering humanity, and to increase our 
abhorrence for this system of cruelty and blood. It was 
cheering, while beholding some of the worst evils of the 
system, to indulge the reflection that the time will come 
when slavery must be abolished throughout the world. 
Incompatible with civil and religious liberty, and opposed 
to the doctrine of Christ, it must feel the paralyzing in- 
fluence of those benevolent principles which are destined 
to destroy the pride and tyranny of the human heart, 
and to induce man to acknowledge in his fellow man, an 
equal and a brother. Thus it appears, that, while there 
are a few things in and about Rio which are calculated 
to excite our admiration, there are many which are truly 
deplorable. Enveloped in a midnight gloom, forgetful 
of her God, and bound with chains of bigotry and super- 
stition, Rio de Janeiro is indeed a valley of the shadow 
of death. But the beauty and grandeur of the natural 
scenery by which she is environed, the salubrity of the 
climate, the spontaneous growth of the most delicious 
fruits, with all the natural advantages by which she is 
distinguished, in connexion with the pure religion of the 
meek and lowly Jesus, would constitute her an earthly 
paradise. 



CHAPTER in. 

Journal continued — Departure from Rio — Rev. Mr. Spaulding — French Fleet ^ 
Violent storm —Flying jib boom carried away — Dinner lost — Storm abates — 
Christmas — Heat — Doubling Cape Horn — Gale nineteen days — Under bare 
poles — Prosperity — Sight of land — Brig Andes — Arrival at Valparaiso — 
Small pox — Danger — Description of the city — Its civil and political condi- 
tion — Religion — Superstition, illustrated by amusing incidents — Protestantism 
— Importance of Valparaiso — Adventui'es round about the city — Great dis- 
crepancy — Appropriate name. 

The time fixed upon for leaving Rio, to proceed on our 
voyage, v^as Saturday morning, the 14th of December. 
Accordingly, at that time, we w^ere all prepared for 
v^^eighing anchor ; but a strong south w^ind commenced 
blovt^ing directly into the harbor, and detained us during 
the w^hole day. In the mornmg, the Rev. Mr. Spaulding 
came on board, and continued vi^ith us for several hours, 
during w^hich he gave us a very interesting address. 
He also gave a short account of the mission in Rio, in 
which he related some striking anecdotes, illustrative 
of the success with which his labors had been crowned. 
Before leaving, he commended us to God and to the 
word of His grace, in fervent prayer, and then, bidding 
us an affectionate farewell, lowered himself by a rope 
into a small skiff, which lay under the lee of the Lau- 
sanne, and was conveyed back to the shore. The season 
was one of deep interest, and kindred feelings palpitated 
every heart. And, as this fellow missionary left us to 
immure himself again in what is worse than heathenism 
itself, we could but invoke the God of battles to prepare 
his way, and sustain him with omnipotent grace, that he 
might witness more abundant success attending his la- 
bors, and finally see the man of sin fall to rise no more. 

The south wind had abated the next morning, and a 
land breeze was favorable for our leaving the harbor. 



VOYAGE TO OREGOM. 63 

Consequently, after the customary visits by government 
officers, we raised the anchor, and spreading our sails 
again to the wind, bid adieu to the dominions of Don 
Pedro the second, and w^ere soon tossed upon old ocean's 
billows, with our vessel's prow directed towards the 
cape of storms. 

The same morning, a French fleet of war of eight 
sail, weighed anchor, and passed majestically out of the 
harbor before us. This fleet was destined to join the 
blockading squadron before Buenos Ayres, and to bom- 
bard the city, provided the United Provinces did not 
comply with the imperious demands of the French. 

The first day out we had a violent storm ; the sea 
was very rough, and nearly every one of the passengers 
was called again to suffer with sea sickness. In the 
course of the storm the vessel encountered a number of 
mountain waves. At one time, through the carelessness 
of the helmsman, she plunged her bows so far into the 
water that her jib and flying jib went completely under, 
and when she rose, her flying jib b©om was carried away, 
and the sails were both rent into shreds from top to bot- 
tom, A table was set for dinner in the captain's cabin, 
and all the dishes were thrown clear from the table into 
the steward's locker, and dashed to pieces. The shock 
given to the vessel was exceedingly violent, and caused 
it to tremble in every joint This was on Sunday. The 
following day the wind abated, and, changing a few 
points, became more favorable. For a number of sub- 
sequent days, a fine breeze wafted us rapidly onwards, 
and on Christmas day, at 12 o'clock, m., we were in 
latitude thirty-nine degrees, thirty minutes, south- 

This was the warmest Christmas we had ever seen, 
the thermometer ranging at eighty in the shade. Rev. 
Jason Lee delivered, on the occasion of Christmas, an 
appropriate discourse, on the subject of the advent of 
Christ 

Wednesday, January 8th, 1840. For a number of 
days past we have been favored with a prosperous wind, 
and are now within four degrees of Cape Horn. Thus 
far, our way has been remarkably prospered. The 



64 VOYAGE TO OREGON, 

weather is now very calm, with a gentle breeze from 
the north-west ; but w^e are approaching the region of 
storms, and can scarcely hope to double the Cape with 
the delightful weather we are now experiencing. 

Friday, 10th. According to our expectations, the 
slumbering winds were aroused, and we began to expe- 
rience the difficulties of doubling Cape Horn. About 
9 o'clock, A. M., a severe gale came down upon us with 
the most threatening violence. Every stitch of canvass 
was immediately taken in, and for more than forty-eight 
hours we lay under the bare poles, the very sport of 
both wind and water. The gale was said by the captain 
to be one of the most violent he had ever experienced. 
On the 15th, the wind had so far abated that we were 
able again to carry sail, but found by an observation at 
noon, that we had been driven several degrees out of 
our course. 

Monday, 27th. For many days past we have been 
baffled with contrary winds, and indeed this is the nine- 
teenth day since we have had any thing like a fair breeze. 
Our course has been west, but we have been compelled 
to run almost every point of compass, and the most of 
the time to contend with violent gales. In consequence 
of head winds we were carried nearly to the sixty-first 
degree of south latitude ; and Cape Horn being in the 
fifty-sixth, we were nearly three hundred miles south of 
the Cape. By an observation this day we found our 
longitude to be sixty-eight degrees, twelve minutes, 
which is a few miles west of the Diegoes. We have 
therefore left the Atlantic ocean, and are now on the 
waters of the Pacific. It is not common for vessels to 
be driven so far to the south in doubling the Cape. 
Perhaps the greater part pass round within sight of the 
Cape or the Diegoes ; but the only land discernible from 
our vessel, in the vicinity of the Cape, was States Land, 
which presented its lofty summit to our view the day 
before we experienced the commencement of the Cape 
Horn gales. Though it was midsummer, in the southern 
hemisphere, while we were doubling the Cape, yet at 
sixty-one degrees we found it excessively cold. Hail 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 65 

frequently fell on deck, and though no icebergs appeared 
in sight, it was judged, from the coldness of the atmos- 
phere, that they were at no great distance. At this 
season of the year, in this latitude, the sun rises a few 
minutes after three and sets a few minutes before nine, 
and daylight scarcely disappears during the whole night. 
We have to proceed but seven degrees farther south, 
and the day will be one month long, at the sun's farthest 
declination south. 

During our long detention here, by successive storms, 
we were frequently entertained by the appearance of 
the huge monsters of the deep, and a vast variety of the 
feathered tribes of the ocean. Whales, lashing the briny 
element, and spouting the huge spray high into the air ; 
porpoises, gamboling over the waves like flocks of ante- 
lopes over the western plains ; the auk or penguin, which 
is a Hnk connecting the feathered with the finny tribe, 
with the albatros, stormy petrel, cape pigeon and many 
others, appeared from time to time around us, in large 
numbers, contributing much to amuse us, and diverting 
our attention even from the successive tempests, that 
howled around us for nineteen days. 

On the 28th, Providence again favored us with a fair 
wind, and enabled us to direct our course to the north, 
and for several days we were carried forward at the 
rate of seven and nine knots an hour. 

On the 3d of February, we found ourselves off the 
western entrance of the Straits of Magellan. 

Our passage round the Cape was a stormy one for the 
season of the year, but the winds and waves were under 
the control of the Almighty, who seemed to smile on 
our enterprise, and interpose in our behalf while naviga- 
ting the tempestuous waters of the southern ocean. 

We now steered our course for Valparaiso, on the 
coast of Chili, where we intended to take in water and 
other supplies. Our passage up the coast was barren of 
incident worthy of special notice, until the morning of 
the 18th, when our eyes were once more delighted with 
the sight of land, the coast of Chili, about forty miles 
3* 



66 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

south of Valparaiso Head, presenting its dark outlines 
thirty miles distant over our starboard bow. 

The wind died away as we approached the shore, and 
we were consequently unable to proceed directly into 
port. A number of vessels appeared near us, bound to 
the same place, with one of which we had a friendly 
interview. She proved to be the brig Andes, of Liver- 
pool, forty-eight days from Sydney, New South Wales. 
We had a shower of rain, with lightning, at ten o'clock, 
and the rest of the day were becalmed within ten miles 
of land. A dead swell bore us slowly towards the shore, 
and in the evening we could distinctly hear the surf of 
the ocean, breaking against the rocks. The captain 
manifested great anxiety, lest we might be dashed to 
pieces on the iron bound coast. At twelve o'clock at 
night a light breeze sprung up, and enabled us to remove 
to a safer distance from the shore. The following morn- 
ing, after the rising sun had dissipated the fog that 
enveloped the shore, the high bluffs, called Valparaiso 
Head, appeared directly before us. A fresh ocean 
breeze sprang up, and bore us directly towards the 
harbor, and on our right appeared a beautiful bay, 
which washed a broad and delightful sandy beach. 
Variety was given to the prospect, by the appearance 
of strange looking birds on the wing, passing from one 
side of the bay to the other. At noon we rounded 
Valparaiso Head, and the city, harbor, and shipping 
were spread out in full view before us. We dropped 
our anchor half a mile distant from the landing, and 
were immediately boarded by government officers, who 
examined us before permitting us to go on shore. A 
number of American gentlemen also came on board, and 
showed themselves remarkably polite and friendly. They 
informed us that the small pox had made terrible havoc 
among the inhabitants of the place, especially the natives, 
but that it had, in a measure, subsided. They said that 
all the foreigners who had been vaccinated, had entirely 
escaped, and that they did not apprehend there would 
be any danger in our going ashore, and purchasing what- 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 67 

ever necessaries we desired ; that there would be as 
much danger in taking the disease from those who came 
on board from the shore, as from going on shore our- 
selves. Accordingly we came to the conclusion to act 
as though no fatal epidemic prevailed in Valparaiso, 
except that, on going ashore, we would avoid those 
places where the disease continued to rage most, espe- 
cially the hospital, presuming that, in our case also, 
vaccination would prove a safeguard against contracting 
the disease. Having attended to the preliminaries, a 
number of the passengers accompanied the captain on 
shore, and, upon landing, found the city of Valparaiso 
much as it appears to be on entering the harbor, very 
forbidding in its aspects. The streets are generally 
narrow, and badly paved, and the houses are generally 
low, being but one story. This is designed to preserve 
them from the destructive effects of the frequent earth- 
quakes, which take place along the ChiHan coast. 

The city lies around a beautiful bay which constitutes 
its harbor, and is about one mile and a half long, and 
varying much in breadth in consequence of the moun- 
tains behind the city, which, in some places, extend down 
nearly to the shore of the bay. These mountains have 
been dug away at their base, so as to afford room for 
two or three tiers of buildings back from the shore. 

This space being filled, the inhabitants retired back on 
the sides of the mountains, where there are a number of 
contracted plains, which form eligible sites for building. 
Here a number of gentlemen, mostly foreigners, have 
erected their fine cottages, and live in princely style. 
But in the hill part of the city, as well as near the shore, 
there is but httle regularity or beauty. The number of 
inhabitants is variously estimated from eight to twelve 
thousand, among which are fifty Americans, and some 
English, Germans and French. The foreigners are by 
far the most interesting part of the population, and do 
nearly all the heavy business of the place. 

The civil and political condition of the country was 
any thing but prosperous. The people were frequently 
breaking out in rebellion • the city was under martial 



68 VOYAGE TO OREGON, 

law, and the whole country seemed to be verging to- 
wards a state of anarchy. It was the time of theii 
election, and such was the excitement that prevailed, 
particularly among the peasantry, that it was extremely 
dangerous for foreigners to go far back from the city, as 
they were generally taken to be the enemies of the 
Republic, and were looked upon, by the Chilians, as theii 
lawful prey. Robberies and murders were frequent 
and from the weakness and inefficiency of the govern- 
ment, were committed with impunity. However, the 
Chilians are quite partial to Americans, because they are 
citizens of a sister Republic. 

The religion of the country is Romanism, which here 
exhibits itself in all its principles of intolerance and per- 
secution, as well as in its superstitions and bigotry. A 
circumstance or two, illustrative of the ignorance and 
superstition of the Chilian Papists, I will relate. At the 
time of the great earthquake, in 1822, which nearly 
destroyed the city of Conception, and greatly injured 
Valparaiso, when the shock was first felt in the latter, 
a large number of the inhabitants fled for safety to the 
Catholic cathedral, under the impression that Heaven 
would interpose in behalf of the sacred edifice, and pre- 
vent its destruction. To render themselves still more 
secure against the danger which threatened them, they 
took down the venerable images of St. Peter and St. 
Paul, from the places they had occupied from time 
immemorial, and placed them as a guard at the door of 
the cathedral. The principal seat of the earthquake 
being in the sea, the water rushed from its bed into the 
city ; the foundations of the city trembled ; the earth 
heaved with convulsions, and the cathedral, with one 
tremendous crash, tumbled into a heap of ruins, and 
five hundred persons were either killed by the falling 
walls and timbers of the building, or drowned by the 
flood of waters that deluged the place. The shock sub- 
sided ; the waters returned to their place ; and the next 
day the images of Peter and Paul were found floating 
in the harbor. The indignant survivors took the image 
of Peter, he being the more guilty of the two, and 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 



perforated a hole through his body, and pinned him upon 
the beach, at low water mark, as a punishment for his 
cowardice, and for deserting them in the hour of danger. 
As he abandoned them to so awful a calamity, they 
abandoned him to the fury of the waveg. 

Although the laws of Ghili do not tolerate any religion 
but Romanism, yet there is a minister of the Enghsh 
church in the city, who is permitted to preach to the 
foreign residents without molestation. They will not 
permit a Protestant to preach in the language of the 
country; if one should attempt it, he would immediately 
be driven from their coast, or forfeit his life. As a mat- 
ter of course, there is but little chance for missionary 
operations among the people, except so far as the Enghsh, 
American and German residents are concerned. Among 
these an intelligent, prudent, and devoted missionary, 
might render himself abundantly useful. But the time 
will come, notwithstanding the fierce opposition that 
now rages against Protestantism, W"hen the vain mumme- 
ries of Popery must pass away, and the darkness that 
now shrouds the people with a midnight gloom, shall be 
succeeded by the light of the glorious Sun of righteous- 
ness, which shall rise upon this benighted country with 
healing in his wings. 

The importance of Valparaiso lies in its eligible situa- 
tion for commerce, it being the entrepot for a great 
portion of the Republic of Chili. The high hills or 
mountains, which surround the city on three sides, and 
extend many miles back, are actually as barren as their 
appearance from the ocean indicates, affording but a 
scanty allowance of vegetation for a few sheep, goats, 
and donkeys. All the supplies of fruit, meat, vegetables, 
&c., for the city and shipping, are brought on the backs 
of mules and asses, from valleys which lie from forty to 
a hundred miles distant ; and even the wood for fire, 
brickbats, tiles, and other materials for building, are 
brought in the same manner. 

With this description of the place, I now proceed to 
relate a few adventures. Immediately on landing, we 
proceeded up through the city ; took a view of the 



70 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

custom house, which, by the way, is a fine building ; 
went into a number of stores, and finally came round to 
the market, where we found an abundance of fruit, similar 
to that of New York. We regaled ourselves on peaches, 
pears, plums, grapes, &c., but soon discovered a boy 
lying near us on a couch, and partly covered with a rug. 
We enquired what the matter was with him, and were 
informed that he was just recovering from the small pox. 
Looking around us, we saw a number in a similar condi- 
tion, and concluded that we should give the virtue of 
vaccination a faithful trial. Tying up some fruit in our 
handkerchiefs for our families on board, we returned to 
the vessel for the night. 

Not being able to weigh anchor the next morning as 
we expected, we entertained ourselves with another 
excursion on shore. Purchasing a few articles to take 
back to the ship when we returned, we bent our course 
up the beach, south of the city, and taking a narrow 
footpath, which wound up a steep declivity, soon found 
ourselves on an artificial steppe of some thirty or forty 
•feet square, and which commanded a beautiful view of 
the bay and harbor of Valparaiso. From this we 
ascended another decHvity one hundred feet high, nearly 
perpendicular, and from its top enjoyed a lovely prospect 
of the city and surrounding -country. Continuing our 
course, we passed a number of deep ravines, climbed a 
number of high bluflfs, and came to the lighthouse, which 
stands on the summit of Valparaiso Head. From this 
place, we discovered, near the shore, a cross erected on 
a rock, and approaching it, found that it was the sign of 
a burying ground, or rather a depository for dead bodies. 
In the language of scripture it might be called "Golgo- 
tha, the place of a skull ; " for the ground was literally 
covered with human bones. Here had been dug a deep 
hole about twelve feet square, into which those who had 
died with the small pox in the city, had been indiscrimi- 
nately thrown. They were conveyed here from the 
hospital, and other places, in carts and wheelbarrows, 
so soon as they were dead, and perhaps sometimes be- 
fore ; and, uncoflined and unshrouded, were cast into 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 71 

one common reservoir, where their bones will mingle, 
undistinguished, till the resurrection morn. Turning 
from this sickening sight, we proceeded over a high 
point of land, and came down to the shore of a beautiful 
bay, which constituted a resort for a variety of sea fowl; 
and having refreshed ourselves with bread, and bathed 
in the ocean, we collected a few shells and other curiosi- 
ties, and turned our course backward towards the landing. 
Rising over a high and barren hill, in the rear of the 
city, we entered a deep ravine, very narrow at the bot- 
ton, and forming a channel for a small rill of water. 
Each bank was covered with a spontaneous growth of 
the sage plant and other shrubbery, while, by the side 
of the brook, groups of females from the city were 
seen, who had resorted thither for the purpose of wash- 
ing their clothes. As we passed down the narrow path 
which had been cut into the almost perpendicular sides 
of the mountains, we met a large number of donkeys 
driven by natives, with two casks slung across each one 
of their backs for the purpose of conveying into the city. 
For some distance up this ravine, there are dwellings 
erected where there is sufficient room, and in many 
places small mud-walled cottages have been stuck into 
the side of the mountain, where places have been exca- 
vated for that purpose. This ravine led us directly into 
the back part of the city ; and, after taking a view of 
the cathedral, which had been rebuilt on the same site 
since its destruction by the earthquake, and collecting a 
few necessaries for the comfort of our families on oui 
continued voyage, we bid adieu to the Chilian coast, 
very unfavorably impressed as regards the condition of 
the country. 

One thing which particularly struck us on examining 
the city of Valparaiso and the country in its immediate 
vicinity, was the wonderful discrepancy .betwixt the 
name and the place. Valpaj'aiso signifies Yale of Para- 
dise ; and certainly no word has ever been more abused 
than this, in its application to this place. Considering its 
irregularity; the narrowness and filthiness of the streets ; 
the squalid appearance of many of its inhabitants ; the 



72 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

obscenity which presents itself in almost every direc- 
tion ; the loathsome diseases which prevail ; the gloomy 
character of its religion, and the barrenness of the sur- 
rounding country, Valparaiso is well entitled to a re- 
baptism, and might appropriately be called, the " Valley 
of the Shadow of Death. " 



CHAPTEH lY. 

Journal continued — Raising anchor — View of tiie Andes — Brig — Pacific ocean 
rightly named — Capture of a sea monster — Difficulty among the sailors — 
Spoken by a whaler — Captain Sawyer — Island of Mowi — Hawaii — Oahu — 
Honolulu — Remarks on the Island— Oahu and its city — Sabbath — Introduction 
to the royal family — Interview — Anniversary of the landing of missionaries — 
Visit to the Para — Battle ground — Kamehameha I. — Waiakiki — Valley of 
Manoah — Source of prosperity — Difficulty with the French — Arrogance of 
Captain La Place — Impression upon the Hawaiians. 

On the morning of the 22d of Febraar}^, we were all 
ready to proceed on our voyage, and commenced raising 
our anchor, but the anchor of a French barque getting 
foul of ours, we were obliged to raise both at the same 
time, and were consequently detained until four o'clock 
in the afternoon. At this time a land breeze favored our 
departure, and again unfurling our canvass to the wind, 
we directed our course for the Sandwich Islands. After 
we had proceeded a few miles from the shore, we 
enjoyed, from the deck of our vessel, a clear and distinct 
view of the towering Cordilleras. This astonishing range 
of mountains, which extends from the Isthmus of Darien 
to the Straits of Magellan, is situated here, sixty or 
seventy miles from the shore, and there is something 
peculiarly grand in their appearance at this vast distance; 
and surely a near view must be sublime beyond descrip- 
tion. Some of them present a white appearance, as if 
covered with snow, and others assume a sombre hue, 
representing the moral darkness which surrounds the 
whole country. Some of them Hft their towering sum- 
mits far above the clouds, and seem to look down with 
contempt upon the storms which howl around their base. 
While contemplating this most stupendous range of 
mountains on the globe, a fine breeze from the south 



74 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

filled our already expanded sails, and in forty-eight hours 
we had run four hundred miles. 

On Tuesday, the 25th, an American brig showed us 
the stars and stripes; we returned the compliment, and 
passed on. On the 28th, we passed into the torrid zone, 
but still found the weather comfortably cool, the mercury 
standing at sixty-seven degrees in the shade. The small 
pox not appearing among us the tenth day out, we con- 
cluded that all had escaped without catching the disease. 
For this indication of Providential care, we felt to offer 
unfeigned thanksgiving. 

The ocean which washes the western shore of the 
continent of North America, is pacific, both in name and 
nature. Nothing could exceed the pleasantness of our 
saihng for twenty-five days after leaving Valparaiso. 
The wind was constant from the south-east, never 
strong, and consequently the ocean was smooth ; and, 
with little perceptible motion, we were borne along from 
one to two hundred miles per day. 

On the 19th of March we re-crossed the equinoctial 
line at west longitude one hundred and sixteen degrees. 
We found the weather, in the region of the equator, not 
so warm as we anticipated, yet, at night, the heat in the 
cabin was somewhat oppressive; but during the day we 
were constantly fanned by the gentle and cooling breeze 
which wafted us onward towards our destination. 

On the 23d, the monotony of our voyage was broken 
in upon by the capture of one of the monsters of the 
deep. Two uncommonly large sharks appeared on our 
stern, attended by pilot fish, and a number albicores. 
The pilot fish is the jackall of the lion of the deep, and it 
is said that the albicore usually follows in the train, for 
the purpose of sharing in the prey taken by the shark. 
We fastened a rope to a large shark hook, which we 
baited with a piece of pork, and cast it into the sea. 
The sharks were soon attracted by it, and one of them 
seizing the bait, the sailors drew upon the rope, and the 
hook fastened to his upper jaw, but it required several 
men to draw him up along side the ship, and it was 
necessary to rig a pulley before he could be hoisted over 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 75 

the bulwarks on to the deck. As this was the first view 
we had had of a shark, no httle curiosity was excited on 
board by his appearance among us. This curiosity was 
not satisfied until even the physiology of his sharkship 
was thoroughly investigated by dissection. One claimed 
his back bone, one his jaw bone, one his teeth, one his 
fins, and another his tail ; the remainder was cast back 
into the ocean, and soon devoured. In addition to the 
shark, there appeared, about the same time, two large 
sword fish, bounding out of the water, and showing their 
silvery sides, but we were obliged to be satisfied to view 
them at a distance, as they manifested no inclination to 
be captured. 

On the 24th, having passed through the region of 
variables, we were favored with a strong north-east 
trade, and, during one week, we sailed the distance of 
thirteen hundred miles; but, on the morning of the 31st, 
the weather became squally. This was supposed to be 
occasioned by our contiguity to a number of small 
islands, which lay to the windward of us. 

It had been the practice of some of the ministers on 
board, to preach occasionally to the sailors in the fore- 
castle, and, apparently, considerable good had been 
accomplished in this manner. Many of them had be- 
come very serious, and a few had professed to experi- 
ence a change of heart; but a circumstance transpired 
on the 24th, which was as afflicting to all on board as it 
was injurious to the sailors. Charley, the sail maker, a 
Dane by birth, being a pestilent fellow, though a favorite 
among the seamen, refused to perform, immediately, the 
pleasure of the mate, Mr. Farrington. The latter re- 
quired Charley to carry a musket from the bow of the 
ship back towards the stern, but not doing it so soon as 
it was supposed he ought, Farrington drew his fist, and 
smote Charley back of the ear, and knocked him on the 
windlass, so that he received a severe wound in the 
head. The blood ran freely; the sailors became much 
excited, and resolved that there should be no more 
preaching among them, but subsequently recalled this 
resolution, and allowed us to continue our instructions. 



76 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

They were a heterogeneous class, being composed of 
Danes, Prussians, Germans, English, Irish and Yankees. 

On the 3d of April, we discovered a sail on our 
larboard quartei', about six miles off. She appeared 
desirous of speaking with us, and soon there appeared a 
speck on the water between the two vessels, which after 
a while could be distinguished as a whale boat approach- 
ing us. We luffed up to the wind, and waited for her 
to come along side. Soon she was under the lee of the 
Lausanne. She contained six men, two Americans, one 
of whom was the captain, one African, and three Sand- 
wich Islanders. • The captain came on board, and re- 
ported his ship as the whaler Fama, of Boston, seventeen 
months from home, and himself as Captain Sawyer. He 
appeared highly gratified to receive ''news from home," 
though what we brought was nearly six months old. 
The Kanakas, or Sandwich Islanders, were stout, noble- 
looking fellows, and Mr. Dibble, the Presbyterian mis- 
sionary, understanding the Hawaiian language, entered 
into conversation with them. He learned from them 
that both the king and queen of the Islands were con- 
verted, and had become members of the Church. He 
also learned that the king had removed his residence 
from Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, to Lahina, on 
Mowi, in consequence of the temptation to drunkeness 
which beset him in the former place, he having been 
intemperate previous to his conversion. This is a fine 
example for converted drunkards. Let them remove as 
far as possible from the cause of their ruin. Captain 
Sawyer, after having obtained a few potatoes and other 
vegetables, which are always a great rarity to whale- 
men a long time out, left us to pursue our course, and 
returned to his hazardous employment. 

Tuesday, the 8th, at eleven o'clock, the island of 
Mowi presented its high bluffs to our view about forty 
miles to the south-west of us, making it forty-five days 
since we lost sight of Chihan coast. We could also 
indistinctly see the high mountains of Owyhee, or Ha- 
waii, which, however, were about seventy miles off. 

Between these two islands is a channel thirty miles 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 77 

wide. On Hawaii is a burning mountain, which is 
considered a great curiosity. In consequence of a suc- 
cession of calms and squalls, we were detained off the 
islands longer than we anticipated. 

For several days the weather was dark and gloomy, 
the sea ran high, the rain fell in torrents, and we thought 
of the fate of the Lark, which was lost on the coral 
reef, which surrounds the island of Hawaii. In the 
evening of the 10th, however, we came in sight of 
Morokai, another of the group; but not considering it 
safe to run down the channel in the night, we tacked 
ship and lay to the wind. The following morning the 
island of Oahu could be distinctly seen in the misty 
distance. This island presents an excellent waymark 
for navigators, and is known by one of its high moun- 
tains, which appears to rise out of the ocean in the form 
of a sugar loaf. At twelve o'clock of the 11th, we 
had Diamond Hill in full view before us, and there 
appeared something across a large bay which Mr. Dibble 
informed us was the city of Honolulu. Presently, we 
were abreast of the city, though at the distance of four 
miles. The channel into the harbor being pointed out 
by Mr. Dibble, our course was directed towards it, and 
we were soon boarded by an old gentleman who acts as 
pilot for the harbor. In a few moments our anchor was 
dropped in the roads outside the coral reef which encir- 
cles the island of Oahu. We immediately received a 
visit from the U. S. consul, Mr. Brinsmade, and Captain 
Stetson. The latter is the son-in-law of the Rev. John 
Lindsey, of New York, and resided on the island of 
Towi. He had been waiting for our arrival for five 
weeks. These two gentlemen, after paying their 
respects, returned to the shore, and provided accommo- 
dations for about twelve of the passengers for the 
following night. 

The next day, the vessel was brought into the inner 
harbor, and provision was made for a number of other 
families, but some were under the necessity of continu- 
mg on board over the Sabbath. On Monday, however, 
our indefatigable friends, the consul and Captain Stetson, 



78 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

succeeded in procuring comfortable lodgings for all the 
passengers during their stay on the island. The consul 
is a member of the Presbyterian church, and Captain 
Stetson is a member of the M. E. Church. Both, by 
their unremitting attention to our wants, secured our 
warmest affection. The members of the Presbyterian 
mission, and many of the foreign residents, extended to 
us that cordial hospitality which is seldom exhibited to 
a company of strangers. It fell to my lot, with my 
family, to be entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Johnstone, 
the teachers of Oahu Charity School, whose dwelHng 
commands a fine view of the mountain scenery, the 
rolling surf, and the city and harbor of Honolulu. 

The Sandwich Islands are ten in number, Hawaii 
being the principal in extent and the number of its 
inhabitants, but Oahu first in point of commercial impor- 
tance. They once contained several hundred thousand 
inhabitants, but of late years, their population has 
greatly decreased. This, doubtless, has been the result 
of their connexion with foreigners; and strange as it 
may appear, christian nations have introduced those 
means into the Sandwich Islands, that are destined to 
prove the destruction of the Hawaiian nation. Intem- 
perance, with its concomitant evils, threatens the ruin 
of these islands, but thanks to an overruling Providence, 
with the seeds of death, a conservative influence has 
been introduced. The cross of Christ has been erected 
on these shores, and thousands have rallied around it. 
There are forty families of missionaries scattered over 
these islands, who are supported by the American Board 
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, whose labors 
have been crowned with wonderful success. Of the 
one hundred thousand inhabitants which the islands now 
contain, seventeen thousand are members of the church, 
and Paganism has no existence in the group. 

The island of Oahu is about sixty miles long and forty 
broad, and contains a population of about twenty thou- 
sand souls. The city of Honolulu is by far the most 
noted place on the island, as it is the commercial empo- 
rium for the whole group. It is delightfully situated on 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 79 

a beautiful plain, and surrounded with the most enchant- 
ing scenery, variegated w^ith ocean, hills, cloud-capped 
mountains, and rich and fertile vales. 

The climate is delightful, the mercury seldom rising 
above eighty-five degrees in the shade, nor sinking below 
forty. The number of the inhabitants at present is 
about ten thousand, four hundred of whom are foreigners. 
Here are EngHsh, French, Americans, Chinese, Africans, 
&c. ; the most of the foreigners, however, are Americans. 
Some of them have large mercantile establishments, and 
are extensively engaged in the sugar business. The 
private dwellings of some of the citizens, both native 
and foreign, are well built, and richly furnished. The 
coral rock, which here abounds, is becoming extensively 
used for building, and makes an excellent material for 
that purpose. The buildings of the missionaries are 
principally of coral, well made, commodiously situated, 
and suitably furnished. 

The next Sabbath after landing, we attended the 
native church in which the Rev. H. Bingham officiates, 
and, to our astonishment, found collected about two 
thousand Hawaiians, to hear the word of the Lord. 
These were, nearly all of them, decently clad; a few, 
however, were almost entirely naked, but they all be- 
haved with becoming propriety, and the most strict 
attention was paid to the word dispensed. The preacher 
addressed them in the native language. The meeting 
house was built after the native style, being thatched 
with grass from the bottom to the top. The house, 
however, is getting out of repair, and another is being 
erected of coral, near this, which will seat, on the 
ground floor, when completed, three thousand persons. 

Besides this, there is another native church in the 
city, of which the Rev. Lowell Smith is pastor. This 
has been built but two years, and the congregation num- 
bers from twenty to twenty-five hundred. 

There is also a Bethel chapel, commodiously situated, 
which was erected by the Seaman's Friend Society, and 
is under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Diell, who 
was absent from his charge on account of ill health. 



80 VOYAGE TO OREGON* 

This was occupied every Sabbath by the Methodist 
missionaries during their continuance on the island. 

Through the influence of Mr. Brinsmade, we were 
all fa.vored with an introduction to the royal family. 
One hour previous to the time appointed for our inter- 
view, we collected at the American Consulate, which is 
situated about one half mile from the king's house, and, 
at the time specified, marched down through the city 
towards the fort, where we were met by a soldier, who 
conducted us to the audience chamber. We were intro- 
duced into a room of some twenty feet square, spread 
with Chinese carpeting, and well furnished with tables, 
chairs, sofas, &c., for the accommodation of visitors. 
The king and his suite were not present when we 
entered, but being informed of our arrival, the former 
soon made his appearance, attended by the governor of 
Oahu, and a very large and dignified woman who had 
been the wife of two kings, and who then officiated as 
his majesty's prime minister, and her little son, of some 
eight years of age, who was heir apparent to the throne. 
They received us with much grace and dignity, and 
bidding us welcome to their shores, assured us of their 
friendship. The object of our expedition being explained 
by the consul, and interpreted to the king by the Rev. 
Mr. Richards, both the king and his premier expressed 
their astonishment and admiration, and said that they 
ardently desired that we might be prospered in our 
enterprise. They pronounced our cause "good," and 
proffered their hospitalities while we were with them, 
and their continued aid in the prosecution of our work. 

Our superintendent, the Rev. Jason Lee, addressed 
his majesty through the interpreter, relative to our mis- 
sion in Oregon, and proposed an exchange of the produce 
of that country, consisting of flour, fish, beef, &c., for the 
products of the Sandwich Islands, consisting of sugar, 
molasses, coffee, indigo, &c., to which the king seemed 
heartily to concur, and said that he was very much 
pleased with the idea. This conversation being closed, 
the consul gave signs that it was time to retire, and 
accordingly we all arose, and passing round the room, 



VOYAGE TO ORiEGON. 8l 

one after another, shook hands with the king, his min- 
ister and her son, and departed, highly gratified with 
our interview with the royal family of the Hawaiian 
nation. Here were displayed none of the pomp and 
trappings of royalty, none of the parade and ceremony 
usually exhibited in the courts of kings. But every 
thing, the apartments, furniture, and apparel of the 
royal family, partook of that neatness and simplicity 
worthy the supreme head of an infant and dependent 
nation. The king was dressed in blue broadcloth, made 
up in the English style, with epaulettes on his shoulders 
and a miniature crown on the lapel of his coat. He is 
distinguished by the title of Kamehameha the Third. 

On Monday, the 19th, the twentieth anniversary of 
the landing of the first missionaries on the island of 
Oahu, was celebrated at the house of Rev. H. Bingham, 
who was one of the pioneers in the business of evange- 
lizing these islands of the ocean. The season was 
rendered interesting by many hallowing associations. 
A short history of the Sandwich Island mission was 
given by Mr. Bingham, and, in view of the astonishing 
results of missionary labor, as seen in the elevation of 
the Hawaiian nation, from the deepest degradation of 
heathenism, to the enjoyment of the blessings of Chris- 
tianity and civilization, surely we had reason to exclaim, 
in the language of Moses, " What hath God wrought ! " 

On Thursday, the 22d, we visited what is called, in 
the language of the country, the Para, about eight miles 
east of Honolulu. We were accompanied by the consul. 
Captain Carter, Captain Grimes, Dr. Judd and lady, and 
Mrs. Hooper. At half past nine we had all mounted 
our horses, which had been provided for our use, and, 
led by the consul, proceeded out of the city, like a troop 
of cavalry, on the round gallop, ; and taking a winding 
path, we soon found ourselves on a contracted plain, 
with huge mountains on our right and left, rising some 
thousands of feet high, their lofty heads being orna- 
mented with caps of fleecy clouds. 

Presently we entered a dark thicket, and found the 
path so narrow and difficult, that it was impossible to 
4 



Sf Voyage to oregoN. 

proceed but by single file, and at a very slow pace. 
After descending and ascending a number of almost 
perpendicular banks, where some of the ladies found it 
very difficult to keep to their saddles, and fording a 
small rivulet which dashed through the thicket, we came 
into a small opening, overgrown with grass, and within 
a few rods of the Para. Here we dismounted, and 
leaving our horses in the care of some Kanakas, who 
had placed themselves here for that pur}:)Ose, proceeded 
on foot to view the object of our curiosity. Soon we 
found ourselves on the brink of a frightful precipice 
several hundred feet high, and almost perpendicular, 
down which there are steps cut in the rock to enable 
persons to ascend and descend in safety. This is the 
only place where it is possible for persons to pass from 
one side of the island to the other without making the 
circuit of the shore, and this pass has been always con- 
sidered remarkably difficult and dangerous. But in 1837, 
Mr. Alanson Beers, a blacksmith, who accompanied one 
of the former expeditions to Oregon, made an important 
improvement in this pass, by fixing firm into the rock, a 
railing of iron for some distance down the steepest part 
of the descent. This Para is six hundred feet above the 
level of the ocean, descending to the north-east abruptly 
until you arrive at a plain, which extends about three 
miles to the shore, and which supports a population of 
more than five thousand people. The appearance of this 
plain from the top of the Para, dotted with the adobe- 
walled cottages of the islanders, and near the centre of 
w^hich was pointed out the dwelling of the Rev. Mr. 
Parker, and the church where listening hundreds are 
taught the way to heaven, is truly delightful ; and, with 
the grandeur of the mountain and ocean scenery, is a 
full compensation for the labor and difficulty of visiting 
the place. 

This Para is noted, not only for the subhme natural 
scenery by which it is surrounded, but also for its inte- 
resting historical associations. Here terminated one of 
the bloodiest wars that ever desolated these islands. 

Having satisfied our curiosity, we remounted, rode 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 83 

over the battle ground, stopped to take a view of a 
beautiful cataract, and returned to a house owned by 
the consul, and situated about two miles out of the city, 
where we sat down to a sumptuous repast. Here we 
spent a social hour, until the heat of the day had passed, 
and then, taking to our horses, galloped back to the city, 
well pleased with our excursion. 

On Saturday, the 25th, rode up to Waiakiki, about 
three miles, where there is a beautiful cocoanut grove; 
from thence to the valley of Manoah, by way of the 
Chinese tombs, passing the country residence of the 
Rev. H. Bingham. This valley is exceedingly fertile, 
and much frequented by visitors, on account of its de- 
lightful mountain scenery. In this valley is situated the 
old palace, the residence of some of the former kings. 
It is a snipJl thatched cottage, surrounded by a dense 
grove of fruit trees, resembling in appearance the apple 
tree. The building is in a very dilapidated condition, 
and constitutes the habitation of bats, mice, and other 
vermin. On returning to the city, we were informed 
that the vessel would leave the harbor of Honolulu for 
her destination on the morning of the 28th. This gave 
us but little time to extend our observations ; but from 
the few we were able to take, we were favorably im- 
pressed with regard to the importance of the Sandwich 
Islands. Doubtless the prosperity of these islands has 
depended, and still depends, mainly upon the whale ships 
that annually flock to their ports. 

The people of the islands, both native and foreign, had 
not recovered from a feverish excitement, into which they 
had recently been thrown by the belligerent attitude in 
which a French man of war presented itself before 
Honolulu. The principal offences against France, of 
which the Frenchman complained, were, first, that the 
Hawaiians had refused to admit French Roman Catholic 
missionaries to land on the islands, when Protestant 
missionaries had always been allowed that privilege ; 
and, second, that the Hawaiian government had passed 
a law prohibiting the introduction of French brandy. 
For these crimes, France resolved to call the wicked 



84 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

Hawaiians to an account ; and, consequently, so soon as 
the frigate arrived, which had been sent to compel 
the Hawaiians to submission, the French commander. 
Captain La Place, in the most menacing form, sent the 
king word that he had a certain number of hours to 
select between two alternatives. First, Roman Catholic 
missionaries must be admitted without restraint; the 
landing of French brandy in any quantities must be 
allowed ; and the Hawaiian government must pay to 
the French an indemnity of twenty thousand dollars ; 
or, second, the favorite town of the islanders must suffer 
all the horrors of a bombardment, with the prospect of 
an entire subjugation to the French. For awhile the 
king hesitated whether to be buried amidst the ruins of 
his country, or submit to the unjust and arrogant claims 
of the French, but, through the influence of his counsel- 
ors, finally preferred the latter alternative. 

The name of the frigate was the Artimese, and she 
was commanded by Captain La Place. This unhappy 
interview betwixt the French and Hawaiians left the 
impression on the minds of the citizens of Honolulu, both 
native and foreign, that France will take the first rea- 
sonable opportunity, to reduce the islands to subjection. 



CHAPTER V. 



Journal continued — Departure from Honolulu — Slow progress — Fresh breeze — 
Coast of Oregon — Old pilot — Captain delivers up the vessel — Crossing the 
fearful bar — Deep anxiety — Cast anchor in Baker's Bay — Rev. Daniel Lee — 
Chenook Indians — Clatsops — Ascend the river — Fort George — Run aground — 
Difficulty of ascending — Arrival at Vancouver — Meeting called — Missionaries 
receive their appointments — Sent off to their stations — First encampment in 
Oregon — Ascending the Wallamette in canoes — Turn Water — Portage — Cham- 
poeg — Horseback ride — Arrival at the Mission Station. 

According to arrangements, on Tuesday morning, 
the 28th of April, at nine o'clock, we were all assembled 
at the United States Consulate, with many of our newly 
made friends of Oahu, who had endeared themselves to 
us by their unwearied kindness and hospitality, awaiting 
the preparation of boats to convey us to the ship. Soon 
all was in readiness, and taking an affectionate leave of 
our attendants, we were quickly on board the Lausanne. 
The winds were favorable, the sails were unfurled to the 
breeze, and we moved slowly out of the harbor through 
a winding channel, which the God of nature has formed 
through the mighty reef of coral nearly encircling the 
island. 

For several days after leaving Oahu, we were obliged 
to run close upon the wind, and, consequently, made but 
slow progress. Our course was north-east from the 
islands to the mouth of the Columbia river, and conse- 
quently the north-east trade was a head wind. So soon, 
however, as we reached the thirtieth degree of north 
latitude, a fresh breeze from the west wafted us on at 
the rate of one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles 
per day. 

In addition to the usual subjects of interest at sea, 
consisting of whales, sharks, porpoises, dolphins, alba- 



86 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

troses, &c., the company were entertained, for a succes- 
sion of evenings, by a course of lectures, delivered by 
the Rev. Jason Lee, on the subject of the Oregon mis- 
sion, embracing its first establishment, and the proper 
course to be pursued to advance its future prosperity. 
While thus employed, the winds of heaven were propi- 
tious, and we were rapidly approaching the coast of 
Oregon. At ten o'clock on the morning of the 21st of 
May, the western coast of North America, which is 
washed by the great Pacific ocean, that land towards 
which we had been directing our course for upwards of 
seven months, presented itself before us. Cape Disap- 
pointment appeared on our leeward quarter, and Point 
Adams on our bow. Considering the direction of the 
wind, the vessel could not have been placed more favor- 
ably for entering the mouth of the Columbia river. 

Wind and tide both favoring us, preparations were 
immediately made for crossing the dreaded bar of the 
Columbia. Captain Spaulding found an old sailor at 
Oahu, who had spent some time at the mouth of the 
Columbia, a number of years before, and who said he 
was well acquainted with the channel across the bar. 
This man the captain had taken the precaution to bring 
with him, to act as pilot on entering the river ; and, 
accordingly, on approaching land, the captain surren- 
dered the vessel into the hands of the old pilot. The 
latter went aloft, and issued his orders from the fore top 
mast head. All was anxiety on ship board, as it was 
cried by the man with the sounding line, "five fathoms 
and a half," for we then knew that we were passing over 
the fearful bar, and that very soon we should experience 
..he fate of a number of vessels, which, years before, had 
pursued the same track but to rush to inevitable destruc- 
tion, or, be quietly moored in the placid waters of the 
bay, behind the projecting cape. Soon the water deep- 
ened to seven and nine fathoms, and the captain observed, 
*' We have reason to congratulate ourselves on having 
crossed the bar of the Columbia in safety, and are now 
steering our course for Baker's Bay." And surely all 
felt heartily to acquiesce in the sentiment, as we slowly 



VOYAGE TO OREGON, 87 

passed around the point of Cape Disappointment, and 
dropped our anchor on American ground. 

The EngHsh barque Vancouver, lay at anchor in the 
bay, waiting for a fair wind to put out to sea. So soon 
as we anchored^ Captain Duncan, from the barque, came 
on board, and informed us that we liad made at least 
one " hair breadth escape," as we came within a cable's 
length of running on to a sand bank, where the William 
and Ann were wrecked a few years before. He also 
informed us that he had just come down the river from 
Fort Vancouver; that Rev. Daniel Lee, and Mr. W. H. 
Wilson, who were members of the Oregon mission, 
were at the fort when he left, and that the people gene- 
rally were anxiously awaiting our arrival. A few hours 
after we came to anchor, an Indian canoe appeared, 
coming down the river, with a number of persons in it, 
and seemed to be directing its course towards us. While 
several miles off we could see, through the telescope, 
that there was one white man, with about a dozen In- 
dians, in the canoe, and when they approached so near 
as to determine who we were, they set up a loud shout 
for joy at our arrival. Soon they came along side, and 
to our great satisfaction, we were saluted by the Rev. 
Daniel Lee, who had left his station at the Dalls, and 
come down the river to visit the Chenooks, and preach 
to them. Though thirty miles above the mouth of the 
river, yet he discovered our sail, as we passed over the 
bar, and, supposing us to be the reinforcement expected, 
he resolved to hasten down and ascertain the fact. 

Rev. Daniel Lee is a nephew of the Rev. Jason Lee. 
They had performed a perilous journey together across 
the Rocky mountains; had endured together the trials 
of missionary life in Oregon ; and as they had been 
separated for more than two years, one remaining in 
Oregon, and the other recrossing the Rocky mountains, 
and then doubhng Cape Horn, the circumstances of their 
meeting were of no ordinary interest. The sensations 
realized cannot well be described. The uncle and 
nephew embraced each other, and wept. Their tears 
were tears of joy, mingled with grief — joy, that after 



68 VOYAGE TO OREGON 

SO long a separation, and the endurance of so many 
hardships, they enjoyed the privilege of seeing each 
other's face— joy^ that a kind and merciful Providence 
had preserved us during our long and tedious voyage, 
and had brought us in safety to this distant shore — joy, 
that the Lord had poured out His spirit in Oregon, and 
that many of the Indians had been converted : but grief, 
that since their separation in Oregon, some of the pio- 
neers of the cross in this land of darkness, had been taken 
from the scene of their labors and usefulness; a grief 
mitigated by the consideration, that they died as the 
christian dies, happy and triumphant. 

Towards evening a number of Indians of the Chenook 
tribe came on board, among v^hom were some of the 
nobility, one of the principal chiefs, whose name was 
Chenamus, and his wife, whom they called the queen, 
being of the number. Most of them were very small 
in size, and very poorly clad, some of them not having 
sufficient clothing to cover their nakedness. The chief 
had notliing on but a blanket, which he wrapped around 
him, but the queen had on a calico dress, a neckerchief, 
and a red woolen shawl. Soon they were reinforced 
by the arrival of a band of Indians from the south side 
of the river, called the Clatsops, who were very savage 
in their appearance, some of them being painted in the 
most hideous manner. They collected together on the 
fore part of the deck, and commenced singing and 
dancing in the most fantastic style. Four persons en- 
gaged in the dance, and as one got weary and retired, 
another would step in and carry it on. They appeared 
to enjoy it exceedingly, and doubtless supposed that they 
were affording us the highest gratification in celebrating 
our arrival among them. Many of them continued on 
board during the night, and though it was very cold, 
some slept in their open canoes which lay along side the 
vessel, with nothing around them. Their appearance, 
as they lay shivering in the cold, was truly deplorable. 
These, we learned, were slaves, and were not allowed 
by their masters to come on the deck. Surely, thought 
we, if any human beings in the world need the sympa- 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. 89 

thies of their fellow men, we have found them on 
entering the territory of Oregon. 

The day after we crossed the bar, we were obliged 
to continue at anchor in Baker's Bay, on account of a 
severe storm from the south-east, which prevented our 
sailing up the river; but on the morning of the 23d, the 
wind became fair, and we prepared to ascend the 
majestic Columbia. A gentleman by the name of Bir- 
ney, residing at Fort George, and belonging to the 
Hudson's Bay Company, came on board, and volunteered 
his services as pilot from Baker's Bay, to the place of 
his residence, the distance of thirteen miles. Weighing 
anchor, we were conducted along a winding channel 
quite across the mouth of the river, and passed within a 
short distance of Point Adams, where the principal 
village of the Clatsops is situated. Crossing the mouth 
of a bay lying back of Point Adams, called Young's 
Bay, we came to anchor for the night, within a stone's 
cast of Fort George, otherwise known as the " far famed 
Astoria, the New York of the Pacific ocean." 

Fort George consists of three small block-houses, one 
of which is occupied by Mr. Birney and family, and the 
others for purposes of trading. Here we went ashore, 
and after examining the site of old Astoria, built a fire 
by the side of a cold spring, and cooked and enjoyed our 
supper again on " terra jirma^^ where our table would 
stand still. Weighed anchor on the morning of the 
25th, and before a fine breeze, proceeded about one mile 
and a half, and run the ship aground. All hands spent 
most of the day in endeavoring to work off the vessel, 
but could not succeed. The next morning we were 
favored with a high tide, and succeeded in clearing the 
bar, but had not run but a short distance before we 
struck another bar with considerable violence, and, at 
first, feared that if we ever got clear of it, it would be 
with great difficulty; but the still swelling tide of the 
next morning, again floated us, and sailing a short dis- 
tance, again we ran aground, and were detained another 
day. We concluded that, either the navigation of the 
Columbia for vessels as large as ours, was exceedingly 
4* 



0|| VOVAGE TO OREGON. 

difficult, or our pilot was ignorant of the channel. How- 
ever, we succeeded, after running aground several more 
times, in reaching that point of land on which Fort 
Vancouver is situated, to which we had been looking 
forward as the termination of our voyage to Oregon, 
and where, by the good providence of God, we were 
permitted to cast anchor the first day of June, 1840. 

Dr. John McLaughlin, the superintendent of the 
affairs of the Hudson's Bay Company, though a Catholic 
himself, received us with much cordiaUty, and extended 
to us the hospitalities of the place, so long as we should 
find it convenient to remain. 

Vancouver is the emporium of the Hudson's Bay 
Company in Oregon. This is the general depot for all 
the goods brought to the country, and also for the furs 
collected, until they are shipped for England. 

Here we remained a number of days, receiving and 
storing our goods ; but on the 13th of June, a meeting 
of the members of the mission was called, by Rev. Jason 
Lee, to consult in relation to fixing the appointments of 
the newly arrived missionaries. These took place as 
follows : J. P. Richmond at Fort Nez Qualy, on Puget's 
Sound ; J. H. Fi'ost at Clatsop, on the mouth of the 
Columbia ; W. W. Kone and G. Hines on the Umpqua 
river, and A. F. Waller was left without an appointment 
for the purpose of assisting in the erection of mills on 
the Wallamette river. The lay members of the reinforce- 
ment were principally located in the Wallamette settle- 
ment, that being the place where the main business 
operations were carried on. There being a physician in 
the Wallamette settlement. Dr. J. L. Babcock was ap- 
pointed at the Dalls, also H. B. Brewer as a farmer. 

All the missionaries were immediately initiated into 
the Oregon mode of traveling, in getting from Vancouver 
to their respective appointments. Canoes were provided 
for us, and we all scattered away ; some up the Columbia, 
some down ; some up the Cowihtz, and some up the 
Wallamette. 

It was in the evening of the 14th day of June, that 
Rev. A. F. Waller, Rev. W, W. Kone, myself, and our 



VOYAGE TO OREGON. ^j 

families, found ourselves floating on the surface of the 
great Columbia, in two small canoes, on our way up to 
the mission station in the Wallamette settlement, having 
taken nothing with us but blankets, and provisions to 
make us comfortable on our journey. It was in the 
season of high water, and the bottom lands, along the 
river, were all overflown. Conducted by our pilots, we 
crossed the main channel of the Columbia to the south 
side ; and running our canoes in among the cottonwood 
timber, we crossed a point of land which lies fifteen or 
twenty feet above low water mark, but which was then 
several feet under water, and coming to a kind of pro- 
montory covered with a dense forest of fir, we ran 
ashore and made our first encampment in Oregon. By 
the aid of flint, steel, and powder, we soon had the forest 
illuminated ; then the women prepared supper of fried 
meat and boiled potatoes, bread, butter and tea, and 
spread it out upon the ground, where all partook of it 
with great relish. Next our bedding was prepared, and 
after recruiting our fire, we prepared to sleep. The 
roar of the wnid through the thick branches of the fir 
trees, whose tall tops were waving gracefully over our 
heads, the hoot of the large owl, and the howling of the 
wolf, frequently broke in upon our slumbers, but the 
morning found us unharmed. In preparing to leave 
camp, the business of the morning afforded each of us 
considerable amusement by our awkwardness, arising 
from unacquaintance with this manner of hving; but 
we concluded that we should soon become initiated, and 
make very good soldiers. 

Taking to our canoes at six o'clock, on the 15th, we 
proceeded a mile, and found ourselves in the Wallamette 
river, having saved a few miles of rowing, by crossing 
the point. Found the scenery along the river exceed- 
ingly wild as we ascended, the shores rocky, and lined 
with dense forests of fir, and but Httle land adapted to 
cultivation. At one o'clock we arrived at the Wallamette 
Falls, called by the Indians Turn Water. Here we found 
about one hundred and fifty of the most filthy and de- 
graded looking beings in human shape, that our eyes 
ever beheld. Surely, thought we, it will require the 



92 VOYAGE TO OREGON. 

labor of many years to elevate these Indians from the 
depth of their pollution into a civilized and christian 
people. The falls are about thirty feet perpendicular, 
beautiful indeed, affording almost unlimited hydraulic 
privileges, yet the Indians held the place in unmolested 
control. The Hudson's Bay Company, however, had 
built a small block-house on the left bank, as we ascend 
the river, for their accommodation, in passing up and 
down. Here we were obliged to make a portage of 
half a mile, which occupied us till nearly night ; and we 
found it exceedingly fatiguing to carry all our things 
over the rocks, for half a mile, on our backs. We had 
accomplished it, however, at five oclock, and proceeding 
up four miles farther, we made our second encampment 
on Rock Island, having traveled but twenty-five miles 
since morning. The weather being fine, we enjoyed 
another comfortable night, and the following day, at one 
o'clock, p. M., arrived at Champoeg, which is the lower 
part of the settlement on the Wallamette river. The 
mission station was sixteen miles above, and, according 
to arrangement, horses were sent down to meet us. 
They arrived at three o'clock, and at four all were 
mounted, several of us taking children on before us, and 
the cavalcade started off upon a gallop over the plains. 
As we were well mounted, Mrs. Hines and myself took 
the lead, and passing over the most delightful country 
that we ever beheld, two hours and a half brought us 
into the midst of three Kttle log houses which stood on 
the banks of the river, and known as the principal station 
of the Oregon mission. 

Here we arrived in safety on the 1 6th day of June, 
J 840, and were cordially welcomed by the missionaries 
on the ground, and made as comfortable as their circum- 
stances would admit. 

Remaining two days in the family of Rev. David 
Leslie, I then took possession of a small room in a house 
about one mile from the station, built for a mission 
hospital, where we again commenced keeping house, 
and where I designed my family to remain until I had 
performed an exploring tour through the country of the 
Umpquas. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Exploring tour to the Umpqua — Preliminaries — Departure — Delightful country — 
Encampment — Amusing incident — Fording river — Mountain La Beache — 
Elk river — Umpqua fort — Indian fight — Frenchman in charge — Meeting with 
the Indians —Old chief 's confession — Hostile Indians — Danger of going among 
them — Resolved to go — Voyage to the coast — Indians accompany us — Inte- 
resting encampment — Indians on the coast — Meeting with them — Speeches 
of the chiefs — Results of the meeting — Talk to God — Solicitude of our Pro- 
tectress — Watching — Presents — Departure — Description of the country — 
Return to the fort — Story of the Frenchman's wife — Dangers we had escaped 

— Perilous adventures of the mountaineers — Tour continued — Mountainous 
country — Fording Elk river — Giant tree — Aromatic tree — Umpqua Indians — 
Head chiefs — Shocking story — Burst of heathen passions — Difficulty with 
guide — Settled — Fear of treachery — Confirmed — Request of We-We — Re- 
fused — Warning — An Indian can be honest — Unhappy results of not trusting 
him — Night — Lost in a forest — Sabbath — Indians again — Homeward route 

— Fine country — Delightful scenery — Home. 

Some time in the winter of 1837, before Rev. Mr. 
Lee left Oregon to return to the United States after a 
reinforcement, he visited the Umpqua tribe of Indians 
for the purpose of ascertaining their number and situa- 
tion ; but it being in that season of the year when it is 
next to impossible to explore the country, in consequence 
of the abundance of water which every where presents 
itself in the way of the traveler, he could not extend 
his own personal observations far, but was under the 
necessity of depending for information concerning the 
objects of his visit, upon the few Indians with whom he 
came in contact on his route, and a Frenchman who had 
charge of a trading post belonging to the Hudson's Bay 
Company, and situated on the Umpqua river. Such was 
the information given and the confidence reposed therein, 
that Mr. Lee, before going to the States, had come to 
the determination that, if the mission was again rein- 
forced, he would establish a station somewhere in the 



94 TOliR TO THE UMPQUA. 

vicinity of Umpqua fort. Accordingly Mr. Kone and 
myself were appointed to labor as missionaries among 
the Umpqua Indians. As Mr. K. was a millwright by 
trade, it was intended by Mr. Lee to retain him for some 
months on the Wallamette, to assist in the erection of 
the mission mills ; and that I should proceed and explore 
the country, select a location for the station, and prepare 
for the removal of our families. 

Hearing reports from that country of a discouraging 
character, Mr. Lee resolved to accompany me on the 
tour, and satisfy himself with regard to the propriety of 
carrying out his original design. 

It should be understood that the Umpqua country lies 
to the south of the Columbia river, about two hundred 
and twenty-five miles. The river which gives its name 
to the country, rises in that ridge of mountains which 
divides the lower from the upper country, and after 
running about two hundred miles, empties into the Pacific 
ocean near the forty-third parallel of north latitude. It 
waters quite an extensive country, as yet to white men 
but little known. Having made arrangements for the 
comfort and safety of our families in our absence, we 
found ourselves prepared to start on our tour on the 18th 
day of August, 1840. Our party consisted of Rev. Jason 
Lee, Dr. Elijah White, myself, and an Indian guide, 
whom we designated by the name of " Captain." Dr. 
White, however, designed to accompany us no farther 
than the Umpqua fort, and then return. Our mode of 
traveling, of course, was on horseback; and, in addition 
to our riding horses, we had three for carrying our bag- 
gage, and four spare ones, that in case, of the loss or 
failure of any, we might not be left destitute. This is a 
precaution indispensably necessary to be taken by all 
who would secure their ultimate safety in traversing the 
extended plains of this wild country. As this was the 
first prairie expedition with which I had ever been con- 
nected, it was necessary .for me, at the outset, to learn 
the peculiarities of the mode of traveling; and, as Mr. 
Lee had performed two journeys across the Rocky 
mountains, he was well qualified to be my instructor. 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA 95 

Watching Mr. Lee closely while he was packing our 
bedding, provisions and cooking utensils, on the backs of 
the horses, I soon observed that it required considerable 
skill and practice to wind the lash rope around the pack 
and the body of the horse, so as to secure the burden to the 
back of the animal in case of fright, stumbling, or running 
against any obstruction, all of which, in the process of 
binding the packs, it is necessary to guard against with 
the utmost precaution. Mr. Lee having magnified his 
office as our instructor, by packing the three horses 
himself, we all mounted, and each man with his gun 
athwart of the pommel of his saddle, our little cavalcade 
put off, on a moderate gallop, across the beautiful and 
fertile plain, lying in the rear and south of the mission 
premises. At noon we arrived at a place called by the 
Indians, Chemekete, where the Oregon mission have 
commenced erecting mills, and where it is in contempla- 
tion to establish the Mission Manual Labor School. This 
place is ten miles up the Wallamette river from the old 
mission station, and is one of the most delightful locations 
in the whole valley. The fertile plains surrounding it, 
the enchanting nature of its scenery, and the fine water 
privilege afforded by the beautiful rivulet that meanders 
through it, render it a place, of considerable future 
importance. Having dined with the family of W. W. 
Raymond, who is employed in forwarding the saw mill, 
we proceeded on our course, being south, through a 
country beautifully diversified with rising grounds, vary- 
ing from the gentle undulation to the majestic hill, fertile 
valleys, variegated with here and there a grove of a 
species of red oak, and now and then a stately fir which 
had braved the fury of a thousand storms. Occasionally 
could be seen the fallow deer and prairie wolves, scam- 
pering in almost every direction, as we passed along the 
narrow Indian trail, which, in its serpentine course, led 
us farther and farther from our habitation. At nightfall 
we encamped near one of the tributaries of the Walla- 
mette river, called " Santa Am's Fork." This is a fine 
stream of water, being several rods wide, and coming 
down from the mountains of th© east, it is said to form a 



96 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 

number of beautiful cascades, while the fine timber 
adorning its banks, and the extended plains of arable land 
on each side, hold out strong inducements to the emi- 
grant to erect his cabin upon its fertile shores. How- 
ever, the bottom lands along this river, though appearing 
exceedingly fine at this season of the year, when the 
water is low, give evidence that, in the winter, they are 
often overflown. Here we found a species of yellow 
pine, similar to the Norway pine, it being the first I had 
seen in the country, but we reposed for the night under 
the branches of a majestic fir, and our trusty horses 
cropped the wild grass of the prairie around us, while we 
slept. Six O'clock the next morning found us prepared 
to resume our journey, and at twelve we had traveled 
twenty miles, when we stopped for dinner, on one of 
the numerous streamlets which water the Wallamette 
valley. 

Re-packing our animals, after resting two hours, we 
traveled, in the evening, about ten miles, and encamped 
for the night by the side of a small pool of water, in the 
centre of a large prairie. The country through which 
we passed during the day, was exceedingly flat. Some 
parts of it were quite low, and subject to inundation 
from the rapid rise of the Wallamette river. The prai- 
ries had been all overrun with fire a short time previous, 
and it was with difficulty that we could find sufficient 
feed for our horses. However, around the pool the 
grass was so green that the fire had passed it by, and 
this rendered it a suitable place to spend the night, 
particularly for our animals. There was something 
very peculiar about this pool. It embraced a superficial 
area of some ten rods of ground, with no visible inlet or 
outlet, and it was several miles from any other water, 
though the water in the pool was nearly upon a level 
with the surrounding land. It was also Kterally filled 
with frogs, there being at least five to every square foot. 

We spread our bed where the grass was abundant, 
but soon after lying down we were disturbed by a some- 
what novel circumstance. I began to feel a gentle stir 
directly under my back, though for some time I made 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 97 

no mention of it, not yet deciding what it might be. 
But as the effort beneath me continued as though some 
Hving being was thrown into convulsions through suffo- 
cation, I at length cried out that there was some living 
creature under my blanket. The "Captain" understand- 
ing me, exclaimed, " A snake ! a snake !" I sprang in- 
stantly to my feet, seized my blankets, and scattered my 
bed around the prairie, and, to the no small amusement 
of our party, out jumped a large bullfrog, and made his 
best leaps to get back into the pool. 

August 20th. We arose in the morning invigorated by 
repose, and traveling twenty-five miles, at one o'clock 
we arrived at the place on the Wallamette river where 
we designed to cross, our trail having been on the east 
side of the river. In approaching the stream, we found 
the trail exceedingly difficult, especially for our pack 
horses, as it led us through a dense forest of cottonwood 
and swamp maple, but at length we emerged from it in 
safety, and found ourselves on the river's brink. Exa- 
mining the ford, we found the river too deep, and the 
current too strong, to admit of our crossing our pack 
horses in safety, and discovering an Indian below us, in 
his canoe, we beckoned to him to come up to us, which 
he accordingly did. He appeared very shy at first, as 
he was entirely naked, not having so much clothing on 
as an apron of fig leaves, but after a while we induced 
him to take our things into his canoe, and carry them 
across the river. Dr. White accompanied him, while 
Mr. Lee, myself, and the " Captain," crossed over the 
horses. The water was up to the animals' backs, and 
the current so strong that we feared it would bear us 
down; but, with the exception of getting thoroughly 
wet, we gained the opposite shore without difficulty. 
Here we took some refreshments, and then continued 
our way over a delightful plain fifteen miles in extent, 
and at night stopped on the California trail, at a place 
which, by the numerous fires which had been built 
around, we judged was often used as an encampment. 
This is the great trail extending through from Upper 



98 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA 

California to the Columbia river, and passes through the 
valley of the Wallamette, on the west side of the river. 

Friday, 21st. After traveling about twenty miles over 
a rolling country, presenting almost every variety of 
scenery, we halted for dinner on a small stream called 
" Bridge river," on account of a log bridge having been 
thrown across it, by some California party. This stream 
runs in a deep cut, and, but for the bridge, would have 
been difficult to cross. In the afternoon we passed over 
the mountain '' La Beache," (Elk mountain,) which con- 
sists of a vast assemblage of hills thrown together in wild 
confusion, and covered with a heavy forest of fir and 
cedar trees. The latter is the most stately and majestic 
timber of the kind I have ever seen. Some of the trees 
are from from ten to fifteen feet in diameter, and tower- 
ing to an incredible height. On beholding them, one is 
reminded of the scripture account of tho cedars of 
Lebanon. It required three hours to cross this mountain, 
and as we descended it to the south, we found the fire 
making sad havoc with the fine timber with which its 
sides were adorned. In some places it raged so hard 
along the trail, that it was quite difficult for us to pass; 
but, urging our way along, we arrived at sun down at 
Elk river, and camped on a beautiful plain on its south 
bank. 

Saturday, 22d. Leaving the California trail we took a 
path that bore farther to the west, which followed the 
direction of the Elk river. During the day we passed 
over an exceedingly mountainous country. Some of 
the hills were rocky and precipitous, and it was with 
great difficulty that we were able to keep our balance 
on the narrow path among the rocks, that, in its zigzag 
course, marked our way up and down their almost per- 
pendicular sides. Mr. Lee remarked that in crossing 
the Rocky mountains, there was nothing that would 
bear any comparison with the difficulty and roughness 
of our trail through the Umpqua mountains. But urging 
our way along, now plunging into the deep ravine, now 
scaling the high ledge of rocks, now climbing the preci- 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. Us* 

pitous mountains, now descending into the dark valley, 
and fording Elk river over the slippery rocks not less 
than five times, at two o'clock, p. m., we found ourselves 
on the banks of the Umpqua river, opposite of the fort. 
We stripped our horses of their packs and saddles, and 
turned them loose to roam at large on the north side of 
the river, until we performed a voyage to the coast; 
and, crossing over in a canoe, we were kindly received at 
the fort by an old Frenchman, having charge of it, by 
the name of Goniea. We were made welcome to all the 
comforts the place afforded. 

This fort, or rather trading post, stands on the south 
bank of the Umpqua river, on a little plain comprising 
about two hundred acres of land, thirty of which are 
under cultivation. It is forty miles from the Pacific 
ocean, and advantageously situated for the purposes for 
which it was established, namely, the collection of beaver 
and other furs from the Indians along the coast and in 
the interior. The fort itself consists of three or four 
little log huts built on three sides of a square, and 
covered with cedar bark. These huts are stockaded by 
poles set in the ground, and rising twelve feet high; and 
at two opposite corners of the enclosure thus formed, 
there are two bastions commanding all sides of the fort, 
and containing means for the defense of the establish- 
ment against the attacks of the Indians who are fre- 
quently quite troublesome in this region. Not long 
since the place was attacked by a band of savages, 
outnumbering ten times the inmates of the fort, but after 
a long fight, in which no one was killed, and but two or 
three of the Indians were wounded, the latter were 
compelled to retreat. 

The Frenchman in charge, it is said, belongs to a 
wealthy and honorable family in Montreal, and though 
frequent efforts have been made to reclaim him from his 
wanderings, and induce him to return to his family and 
friends, yet all have been unavailing. Such is the power 
of habit with him that he now prefers a life but little in 
advance of the wretched savages that surround him, to 
all the elegance and refinements of the most civilized 



100 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 

society. He lives with an Indian woman whom he calls 
his wife, and who belongs to a tribe that reside on the 
coast, near the mouth of the Umpqua river. 

Sunday, 23d. A good night's rest on a bed of Macki- 
naw blankets, and a liberal supply of boiled pork and 
potatoes, furnished by our Indian hostess, wonderfully 
recruited us after the fatigues of our journey. We 
found no Indians around the fort except a small band of 
twenty-five Calapooahs from the Wallamette valley. 
These we collected in one of the huts within the stock- 
ades, and Mr. Lee addressed them in the jargon of the 
country, concerning the things which belong to their 
peace, and the chief interpreted it to his people. They 
seemed to be much interested, and were ready to promise 
that they would all become good. The chief confessed 
that his people had formerly been guilty of adultery, but 
said he had stopped all that a year ago; that he allowed 
himself to have two wives still, but that he meant to put 
one of them away as soon as he returned. As we 
expected to pass through his country on our return, we 
engaged to meet him and his people on a certain day, 
and give them another " talk." 

Monday, 24th. Dr. White and the ''Captain" left us 
and returned to the Wallamette, and Mr. Lee and myself 
started in a canoe, to visit the Indians at the mouth of 
the Umpqua river. We had been informed by Mr. 
Goniea that there would be great danger in our going 
among them alone, and, indeed, he appeared to stand in 
the utmost fear of them. Of their hostility to the 
whites, and especially the Americans, we were ourselves 
aware, as they had in more than one instance attacked 
them, and at one time in particular they cut off* an entire 
party of fourteen men who were coming through from 
California to Oregon, except three persons, who fortu- 
nately escaped to tell the story of the massacre of their 
companions. But Providence seemed to favor our design 
of going among them. On Sunday afternoon, a brother 
of the Frenchman's wife, with a small party of Indians 
from the coast, arrived at the fort, having come up the 
river in a canoe. After having an interview with them 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 101 

we proposed to the Frenchman that his wife, who, we 
learned, was a relative of the principal chiefs of the 
tribe, should take us under her protection, and with her 
brother and his party, conduct us to their people. To 
this the Frenchman consented, saying, "now the danger 
is small, before it was great." According to arrange- 
ment, at ten o'clock, a. m., we put out with our light 
canoe into the rapid current of the Umpqua. We ran a 
number of narrow shoots where the current is at least 
twelve knots an hour, and in some instances shot past 
the rocks which projected into the stream within six 
inches, with the velocity of an arrow. But our Indians 
— seven in number — showed themselves to be on their 
proper element by the astonishing dexterity with which 
they ran the dangerous rapids with which the river 
abounds. Fifteen miles below the fort, the river rushes 
over a ledge of rocks in a number of narrow channels, 
and falling about twenty-five feet in so many rods, forms 
a fine salmon fishery. Here we found, crowded into 
four small lodges, about one hundred Indians, exceedingly 
squahd in their appearance, and subsisting entirely on 
fish. 

Our Indian protectress, who also officiated as inter- 
preter, informed them who we were, and for what 
purpose we had come among them, with which they 
seemed to be highly pleased, saying it was good; and as 
we passed on, nine of them, five men and four women, 
jumped into a large canoe, for the purpose of accom- 
panying us down the river. 

Having thus increased our company more than half, 
we proceeded on our voyage, contemplating the barba- 
rous appearance of both animate and inanimate nature 
around us, until the gathering shadows reminded us that 
night approached ; and running our canoes in along the 
right hand shore, we at length found a place sufficiently 
broad, from the river to the base of the mountain, to 
admit of our encamping, and here we pitched our tent 
for the night. Our Indians soon struck up two good 
fires, one for themselves and one for us. Mr. Lee and 
myself prepared our supper, our female friend providing 



102 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA, 

US with a choice piece of salmon which she had broiled, 
and which, with bread, butter, and tea, constituted our 
humble repast. Never did we partake of a supper with 
a better reHsh. While we were enjoying it, our neo- 
phytes prepared supper for themselves, and it was not a 
little interesting, to one who was not familiar v/ith such 
scenes, to see them prepare their food. Their supper 
consisted of fresh salmon, and a species of hazel-nut, 
which is found in the country in great abundance. 
Having made a suitable fire, they commenced the ope- 
ration of cooking their salmon. This was performed in 
the following manner : they all provided themselves 
with sticks about three feet long, pointed at one end and 
split at the other. They then apportioned the salmon, 
each one taking a large piece, and filling it with splinters 
to prevent its falling to pieces when cooking, and which 
they fastened with great care, into the forked end of the 
stick ; then placing themselves around the fire so as to 
describe a circle, they stuck the pointed end of the stick 
into the ground a short distance from the fire, inclining 
the top towards the flames, so as to bring the salmon in 
contact with the heat, thus forming a kind of pyramid 
of salmon over the whole fire. One side being cooked, 
the other was turned to the heat, and speedily the whole 
was prepared for eating. Stones were then provided 
for the purpose of cracking nuts, and all being seated on 
the ground, the eating process commenced. The extreme 
novelty of their appearance, the nut cracking, the gene- 
ral merriment, the apparent jokes, ready repartees, and 
bursts of laughter, were sufficient to have excited the 
risibilities of even a Roman CathoHc priest, however 
phlegmatic. And certainly a more jovial set of fellows 
than these sons of nature, I have never seen. They are 
as untamed as the elk they chase over their mountains ; 
and feasted upon their fish and nuts with as much seem- 
ing satisfaction to themselves, as the most fashionable 
and refined party that ever graced the gay saloon en- 
joyed while regaling themselves from the most costly 
viands. 

Supper being over, we called the attention of the 



TOUR TO THE LMPQUA. 103 

Indians, while we engaged in our evening devotions. I 
sang a hymn, and then we both engaged in prayer, the 
Indians all kneeling with us, and evidently manifesting a 
pecuHar interest in what was passing before them. And, 
thought I, why should they not feel interested 1 Never 
before had the death-like silence, which reigned along 
this valley, been broken by the voice of prayer and 
praise. The sombre shades of moral darkness, which 
had ever cast a melancholy gloom upon the people, had 
never been penetrated by the rays of gospel light. The 
heralds of mercy who bring glad tidings of good things 
to those w^ho wander upon the dark mountains, had never 
before set their feet on these hostile shores. And, while 
the Indians surrounding us appeared to be sensible of the 
nature and importance of our visit among them, the 
circumstances were such as to create in us feelings of 
the greatest solicitude. After our devotions were fin- 
ished, Mr. Lee addressed the Indians through our inter- 
preter in relation to the objects of our visit, and they 
listened as to a story calculated to excite the utmost 
wonder. We all retired in quietness, rested in peace, 
arose in safety, and proceeding on our way along the 
widening Umpqua towards the great Pacific ocean, ar- 
rived at noon among the Indians at the mouth of the 
river. 

We found but little land along the river which holds 
out any inducements to emigrants, the country on both 
sides as we approached the coast, becoming more and 
more rocky and mountainous. Whatever the country 
may be back from the river, it is certain that along the 
stream it can never sustain much of a population. Hills 
upon hills, and rocks piled upon rocks, characterize al- 
most the whole distance from the Umpqua fort to the 
Pacific ocean. 

On arriving at the coast we found the Indians living 
in three small villages, the larger being on the south, and 
the other two on the north side of the river. The whole 
number, as near as we could ascertain, amounted to 
about two hundred men, women, and children, about 
one-third of whom were absent in the mountains, for 



104 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 

the purpose of gathering berries. It was thought best, 
by our female guajBdian and adviser, to pitch our tent 
some half a mile distant from the larger village on the 
south side of the river, near which she told us the chiefs 
and their people would meet us to hold a " talk." 

Though the news of our arrival quickly flew to all the 
lodges, yet none of the Indians came near us, until we 
sent them word that we had come, and desired to see 
them at our tent; then three chiefs and fifty-five of their 
people, mostly men, came out to see us. Seating them- 
selves in the sand in a semicircle in front of the tent, 
they informed us, through our interpreter, that they 
were " ready to hear what we had to say." Mr. Lee 
then addressed them, describing the objects of our visit, 
and telling them whence we came; how long it took us 
to perform our voyage from our native land to their 
country; that we had many friends at home who desired 
us not to leave them; that a sense of duty had brought 
us to their country to tell them about Jesus Christ; that 
in coming to them, we had been exposed to a thousand 
dangers, but had been preserved in the midst of them all 
by the "Great Chief above;" that we had heard much 
about them, and that we were glad now to be permitted 
to see them for ourselves, and become acquainted with 
them. He then inquired whether they approved of our 
visit, and wdiether they desired to be instructed. 

After a few moment's consultation among themselves, 
the chiefs, one after another, arose, and advancing to 
within six feet of Mr. Lee, addressed him in substance 
as follows, there being but httle difference in their 
speeches: ''Great chief! we are very much pleased 
with our lands. We love this world. We wish to live 
a great while. We very much desire to become old 
men before we die. It is true, we have killed many 
people, but we have never killed any but bad people. 
Many lies have been told about us. We have been 
called a bad people, and we are glad that you have come 
to see us for yourselves. We have seen some white 
people before, but they came to get our beaver. None 
ever came before to instruct us. We are glad to see 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 105 

you; we want to learn; we wish to throw away our bad 
things, and become good." They spoke very loud, and 
their gestures were remarkably violent. Sometimes 
the}'- would rise upon tiptoe, with both hands stretched 
high above their heads, and then throw themselves 
forward until their faces almost touched the ground. 
Returning to their seats in the sand, they told us that 
they were now prepared to hear us more particularly. 

According to Mr. Lee's request, I stepped out into 
an open sp8.ce and struck into Heber's missionary hymn; 
and while singing the first verse, they all seated them- 
selves on the sand, forming three-fourths of a circle 
around us, and then with the most fixed attention, 
listened to the remaining part of the hymn. We then 
joined in prayer, all the Indians kneeling with us, and 
invoked upon our enterprise the blessing of Almighty 
God. Though our congregation was totally ignorant of 
the nature of worship, yet the scene, to us, was deeply 
affecting. Never before had they thus bowed, never 
before had they heard the voice of prayer. We then 
preached to them the gospel as well as we could in the 
jargon of the country, giving them an account of the 
creation of the world, the fall of man, the advent, suf- 
ferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, to 
save mankind from sin, from death, and from hell, all of 
which was interpreted to her people by our female 
friend. They appeared very solemn, and manifested an 
ardent desire to understand what was said to them; but 
we scarcely dared to hope that they understood much, 
though they appeared exceedingly interested. Yet we 
cherished the fond belief that, for the first time in their 
history, a few rays from the Sun of righteousness 
pierced the gloom of the long and dismal night which 
had hung around. The chiefs expressed their approba- 
tion of what they had heard, saying it was all very good, 
and that they had never heard such things before. They 
all dispersed, and we prepared and took our supper. 

After dusk they all returned for the purpose, as they 
told us, of " hearing us talk to God " previous to our 
going to bed. They built a large fire, and seated them- 



106 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA, 

selves around it. I then sang another hymn; after 
which we both engaged in prayer. As they still lingered 
around, Mr. Lee gave them another lesson from the word 
of the Lord, after w^hich they reluctantly scattered away 
to their wigwams, leaving us to repose ourselves on our 
bed of blankets, spread upon the sand. Mr. Lee slept 
soundly during the night, but the scenes of the preced- 
ing day, the circumstances of the night, and the fact 
that we were lying at the mercy of those who had 
proved themselves among the most treacherous of sava- 
ges, produced such an effect upon my nerves, as to 
destroy all inclination to close my eyes. I repeatedly 
drew aside the tent cloth, and cast a look around, and 
in every instance observed that our protectress and her 
brother, and an Indian who had hved among the whites, 
but had returned to his people, were keeping up a large 
fire in front of our tent, which threw its light back into 
the dense forest which lay in our rear. Sometimes they 
were in earnest conversation, then they would pile on 
the dry sticks until the flame would ascend to the height 
of ten feet, and enable them to distinguish every object 
within a circle of twenty rods. This they continued 
during the whole night, neither of them for a moment 
attempting to sleep. 

Wednesday morning arrived, none of the Indians 
having, to our knowledge, shown any disposition to mo- 
lest us during the night. After our breakfast was over, 
knowing that we intended to leave so soon as the tide 
had risen sufficiently to admit of our passing over the 
sand bar above, they all collected again and seated 
themselves on the sand, while we once more offered up 
our fervent prayers to the '• Desire of nations " in their 
behalf. After prayer, they were again addressed a few 
words ; and we were preparing to leave them, when 
one of the chiefs stood up on his knees, and began to 
speak. He said he was very glad that we had come to 
see them ; that their hearts towards us were like our 
hearts towards them ; that he wanted us to continue 
with them another day, and tell them about God ; that 
they had heard about us, and had been told we were a 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 107 

bad people ; that they were glad to see us for them- 
selves, and were convinced that what they had heard 
was a lie ; that they now believed us to be a good people, 
and that they meant to be good also. We asked them 
whether they would receive a man, and use him well, 
if one were sent to them alone 1 They replied, -' We 
will let him come among us ; we will give him food, and 
will not hurt him, but will do what he says. " When 
they were informed that probably the next summer one 
of us would come and visit them again, they were ex- 
ceedingly well pleased, and said, '• It is very good." 

Before leaving, we visited their lodges, and one of 
them presented us with a beaver skin, and the wife of 
the principal chief gave us a woman's dress, which was 
made of cedar bark. The bark was strung out fine 
about eighteen inches long, and woven together at one 
end, so as to admit of being tied around the person, thus ■ 
constituting a kind of fringe. Two of these fringes made 
a complete dress ; one was fastened around the body 
above the hips, and hung down to the knees ; the other 
was tied around the neck, and formed a covering for the 
breast and shoulders ; the arms and lower extremities 
being left perfectly unencumbered. All the women 
were dressed in this manner w4th the exception of our 
friend, and one who had been the slave of a Frenchman, 
but had run away from her master, and returned to her 
people. These were dressed somewhat in the style of a 
Swiss peasant. 

Having fully satisfied ourselves with regard to the 
number, disposition, and accessibility of the Indians in 
this solitary region, we prepared to take our leave, and 
the people all assembled to witness our departure. Giv- 
ing them a few presents, at nine o'clock, on Wednesday 
morning, carried forward by the stroke of the Indian 
paddle, we were rounding a high bluff situated on the 
south side of the mouth of the Umpqua river, and form- 
mg one side of a small bay, in the bosom of which the 
Indian village we had just left was situated, and which 
was fast disappearing behind the point of the projecting 
cliff. Crossing the mouth of the river, which is about 



lOS TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 

one mile wide, we stopped a few moments on the 
north side to lay in a Httle provision, and gave ourselves 
an opportunity to take some observations of the sur- 
rounding country. The land on both sides of the mouth 
of the river presents a most forbidding aspect. On the 
south the mountains extend quite to the waters of the 
Pacific, and form a shore of the most bold and precipi- 
tous character. On the north is a low sandy beach ex- 
tending back from the mouth of the river about three 
miles, in the form of a triangle, and appearing destitute 
of vegetation, except a small growth of cottonwood. 
From our brief stay at the place, and our limited obser- 
vations, it was impossible for us to form a just estimate 
of the whole country ; but it appeared to us, that little 
importance can be attached to this portion of Oregon, 
viewed with reference to either agricultural or commer- 
cial pursuits. However, as there is a snug httle harbor 
in the mouth of the river, and a channel across the bar, 
which will admit of the ingress and egress of craft, 
drawing not more than six or eight feet of water, this 
will probably be the outlet for the extensive and fertile 
valley above. 

Contemplating the probable period when the barbarism 
of both animate and inanimate nature along this river 
shall give place to civilization and Christianity, we turned 
our backs upon the great Pacific, and by the combined 
assistance of the Indian paddle and the flood-tide, passed 
rapidly up the river, and at night encamped at the sal- 
mon fishery. Found the river to be affected by the tide 
nearly twenty-five miles from its mouth. We ascertained 
that the Indians at the falls are not of the tribe of those 
on the coas-t, though they speak a similar language. 

Spreading our blankets upon a shingle beach, we slept 
without molestation though surrounded by treacherous 
savages. Next day we started at an early hour, and 
though having but fifteen miles to travel, yet on account 
of the numerous strong rapids we had to ascend, and 
the portages we had to make, we were till sunset in 
reaching the fort. We were again welcomed by the 
Frenchman, and refreshed with a supper of bread, made 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 109 

of pounded wheat, and roasted elk beef. During the 
evening Mr, Goniea came to us considerably excited, and 
warmly congratulated us on the safe guardianship his 
wife had exercised over us in our absence. He said 
that, in all probability, we should have been robbed of 
all we had, if we had not lost our lives, had it not been 
for the faithfulness of his wife and her brother. He 
told us that one of the chiefs of the clan we had visited, 
was at the fort on our first arrival, and saw us as we 
came in. Learning that we designed to visit his people 
on the coast, and excited with the utmost fear, he hast- 
ened down the river, and reported many evil things 
about us, intending thereby to instigate the Indians to 
prevent our going among them. Mr. Lee had brought 
a fowHng piece with him, and had in his possession a 
patent shot pouch. This was the thing that had alarmed 
the chief One story he told was that we had brought 
medicine in a bag that Mr. Lee wore on his neck, for the 
purpose of kiUing them all oflf; and, that if we were 
permitted to come among them, the fatal bag would be 
opened, and they would all be destroyed. This exaspe- 
rated many of them, and Goniea's wife told him that we 
were in great danger the night we slept on the coast ; 
that the Indians were lurking about us during the whole 
night, seeking an opportunity, when it was dark around 
our tent, to attack us ; but that she and her brother kept 
a constant watch over us until morning. This explained 
to me the circumstances of that night, already described. 
But be this as it may, we were not, at the time, sensible 
that w^e were particularly exposed ; and we felt our- 
selves safe under the protection of our Heavenly Father. 
Notwithstanding the seeming favor with which we 
were received among them, the Indians along this river, 
and especially those on the coast, have often proved to 
be among the most treacherous of savages, and none 
have ever been among them, but have learned that they 
are capable of practising the most consummate dupli- 
city. A story told by the gentlemen of the Hudson's 
Bay Company, concerning what transpired on this river, 
clearly illustrates the treachery and cruelty of these 



110 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 

savages, as well as the perilous adventures of the Oregon 
mountaineers. 

A company of fur hunters, know^n by the name of the 
Smith, Sublette & Jackson Company, was formed on 
the frontiers of civilization, and the plan proposed to 
accomplish their object was, to divide the company be- 
twixt the three leaders, and the three portions to sepa- 
rate, each taking a given quantity of the Indian territory 
to explore. In this division, Smith was to take the 
country extending from the Platte river, by the way of 
Santa Fe, to California ; thence turn north along the 
Pacific ocean, as far as the Columbia river, and thence 
back into the interior to join the other partners of the 
company. 

The country was in its wildest state, but few white 
men having ever passed through it. But nothing daunted. 
Smith and his company marched through to Cahfornia, 
and thence along the coast, north, as far as the Umpqua 
river, collecting in their progress all the valuable furs 
they could procure, until they had loaded several ''pack 
animals" with the precious burden. On arriving here, 
they encamped on the border of the river, near the 
place where they intended to cross, but on examination, 
found that it would be dangerous, if not impossible, to 
effect the passage of the river at that place. Accord- 
ingly, Smith took one of his men and proceeded up the 
river on foot, for the purpose of finding a better place 
to cross. In his absence the Indians, instigated by one 
of the savage looking chiefs whom we saw at the mouth 
of the river, rushed upon the party with their muskets, 
bows and arrows, tomahawks and scalping knives, and 
commenced the work of death. From the apparent 
kindness of the Indians previously, the party had been 
thrown entirely off their guard, and consequently were 
"'mmediately overpowered by their ferocious enemies, 
and but one out of the twelve in camp, escaped from 
the cruel massacre. Scarcely knowing which way he 
fled, this one fell in with Smith, who was on his return 
to the camp, and who received from the survivor the 
shocking account of the murder of eleven of his com- 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. Ill 

rades. Smith, seeing that all was lost, resolved upon 
attempting nothing further than to do his best to secure 
his own personal safety, with that of his surviving com- 
panions, the Indians having secured all the fur, horses, 
mules, baggage, and every thing the company had. The 
three immediately crossed the river, and made the best 
of their way through a savage and inhospitable country 
towards Vancouver, where, after traveling between two 
and three hundred miles, and suffering the greatest de- 
privations, they finally arrived in safety. 

Rehearsing the story of their wonderful escape and 
subsequent sufferings, to the members of the Hudson's 
Bay Company, the utmost sympathy was excited in their 
behalf, and a strong party was immediately fitted out to 
go and rescue the property from the savage robbers, and 
restore it to its surviving owners. The vigor and per- 
severance of this party, were equal to the promptitude 
with which it was fitted out. They proceeded to the 
scene of blood, and after committing the mangled bodies 
of Smith's murdered companions to the grave, compelled 
the Indians to relinquish the property they had taken, 
spread terror through the tribe, and returned in triumph 
to Vancouver. All this labor and expense were bestowed 
by the company gratuitously, and Smith and his friends, 
while at Vancouver, were fed and clothed without money 
and without price. In addition to this. Governor Simp- 
son, who, at that time, was at Vancouver, proposed to 
take Smith and all his furs to England, where he could 
avail himself of the advantages of the London market, 
and obtain a higher price ; but Smith replied that he 
had already been laid under too many obligations by the 
company, and could not consent to receive this last prof- 
fered favor. Accordingly he sold his furs to the com- 
pany and went into the interior, where he found Sublette 
conflicting in his trade with the interests of the company, 
and induced him to leave that quarter. He then went 
into the country of the Colorado, and collected conside- 
rable property in furs and peltries ; but in crossing that 
river, he was again defeated by the Indians, and lost all. 
Subsequently, he returned to St. Louis, and fitted out an 



112 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA, 

expedition to Sante Fe, But this was his last journey 
among hostile tribes^ Surrounded by the savage horde 
that beset his path, he was again attacked by his relent- 
less foe, and miserably perished. 

Having listened to the story of the ill-fated Smith, we 
prepared to continue our exploring tour farther into 
the interior, and up the valley of the Umpqua river. 
Through the assistance of Mr. Goniea, we procured an 
Indian guide of the Umpqua tribe, whom the French 
had designated by the name of " We-We," and who well 
understood the jargon of the country, and could officiate 
as our interpreter. The forenoon of Friday was spent 
in finding our horses, and preparing our pack. All being 
ready, betwixt twelve and one o'clock we started, with 
our guide in advance. Passing over a number of high 
hills, and fording the Umpqua three times, where the 
bottom was very rocky and the water up to our horses' 
backs, we camped at night on the bank of a small rivulet, 
under the shelter of a grove of fir. We had traveled 
about twenty miles. The country traversed that day, 
though mountainous, is tolerably well adapted to grazing 
purposes, the land on the hills, and in many of the valleys, 
being covered with a spontaneous growth of the most 
nutritious grass. The timber grows less and less abun- 
dant as we proceed up the river; some of the fir trees, 
however, are most magnificent. We measured one with 
our lasso as high up as we could reach, and found it to 
be thirty-six feet in circumference. We judged it to be 
three hundred feet high. In the lowest valleys next the 
streams, grows a kind of timber, the like of which I 
have never seen in any other country. It appears to 
be of the laurel family, and is so strongly scented, that 
the air in the groves where it is found, is strongly im- 
pregnated with its aromatic odors. The elk abound in 
this country, and afford a fruitful source whence the 
Indians derive a subsistence. No Indians appeared 
during the first day. 

Saturday, 29th. Continued our toilsome way over 
mountains, and through valleys similar to those already 
described, and at noon arrived at the head quarters of 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 113 

that portion of the Indians of this valley, distinguished 
by the name of the river. Here the head chief of the 
Umpquas has fixed a temporary abode, and here one of 
those circumstances recently transpired, v^^hich, though 
of common occurrence in heathen countries, where 
the vicious propensities of depraved human nature are 
permitted to revel uncontrolled, are sufficient to freeze 
the heart's blood, even to contemplate at a distance. It 
is as follows: A report came to the ears of the chief of 
the Umpquas, that his wife had been guilty of infidelity 
towards her husband. This so enraged him, that, with- 
out knowing whether the report was true or false, he 
seized his musket, and went directly to the lodge where 
his wife was sitting, and deliberately shot her through 
the heart. 

Soon after our arrival on the side of the river oppo- 
site to the village, this chief, with the few men that were 
with him, came over to see us. He delivered a long 
speech, which was interpreted to us by "We- We," in 
making which, one of his first objects seemed to be to 
justify the murder of his wife, and then to express his 
gratitude that christian teachers had come among them. 
While he was haranguing us, my attention was caught 
away from his speech by a terrible burst of heathen 
passions, which took place on the other side of the river, 
among the lodges. In the absence of the men, the 
women had a regular fight, scratching and biting one 
another, and tearing each other's hair, and squalling 
most frightfully. So tremendous was the explosion that 
even the chief paused in the midst of his address, and 
significantly remarked, "our women 3ire hias masicha ;^^ 
(very bad.) Such wei-e the indications here, that we 
came to the conclusion that the sooner we were out of 
the place the better it would be for us, and so soon as 
we had taken a little refreshment from our scanty stores, 
we told our guide that we were ready to proceed; but 
he positively refused to go any farther that day, saying 
that it would be using his people very ill, and that the 
chief would be very angry with us, if we did not stop 
and sleep with them one night. The contention became 
5* 



114 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 

quite warm, and we began to consider ourselves in rather 
critical circumstances. If abandoned by our guide, it 
was extremely doubtful whether we could find our way 
back to the fort, or forward to the great valley of the 
Umpqua. The whole country was rough and mountain- 
ous, and there was no visible trail but a small portion of 
the way. 

But with all these difficulties, we showed that we were 
fixed in our resolutions to leave this suspicious horde of 
savages before darkness should favor them in the execu- 
tion of any treacherous designs which they might enter- 
tain towards us. Discovering that we were ready to 
mount our horses. We- We became more pliable, and 
said that he would proceed with us, on condition that we 
would pay him an extra shirt, we having at first given 
him a shirt and a pair of pantaloons. Mr. Lee said he 
would give him no more, but, to get rid of the difficulty, 
I told We- We that if he would go, I would give him the 
additional shirt so soon as we should reach the great 
valley. Turning to his people, We- We addressed them 
a few words in the Umpqua language, and then told us 
he was ready to go. Accordingly, we left this group of 
wretched beings about three o'clock, p. m., and galloped 
swiftly over a little plain, towards a high mountain. 
Three hours' hard labor in ascending and descending, 
brought us to the foot of the mountain on the opposite 
side, and passing through a dense thicket, we found 
ourselves again on the bank of the river. We- We 
brought out a well known Indian "whoop," and was 
answered by another Indian, just below us, on the river. 
Immediately four Indians came in sight, with a canoe, 
and We- We told us we had better unpack our horses, 
and put all our things in a canoe to be taken up the river, 
a few miles beyond a place where the pass was very 
rocky, narrow, and dangerous. But the strange conduct 
of the Indians we had left, had excited our suspicions; 
and supposing that those in the canoe were some of the 
same party whom We-We had, perhaps, caused to come 
up the river for no good purpose, we resolved to keep 
what we had under our own eye as long as we could. 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 115 

We told the guide that we should keep our things on 
our horses' backs. We- We hung his head, and told us 
we would be sorry for it before we got through. We 
proceeded, but found it as We-We had forewarned us. 
Our trail lay along a frightful precipice which towered 
far above us, and extended far below us, and in some 
places was so narrow and broken that a miss-step would 
have precipitated us headlong on the rocks below, or 
into the rushing waters of the Umpqua. In one instance 
my own horse fell from ten to fifteen feet down the rocks, 
but at length succeeded in gaining the trail without 
receiving much injury. 

But we were not destined to make the pass, without 
considerable difficulty. In passing the last dangerous 
point, "old Pomp, " our pack horse, lost his footing, and 
rolling down a rocky steep of some thirty feet, went 
backwards into the Umpqua river. We had fastened 
around his neck a long lasso, and the end of it remaining 
on shore, we succeeded, by drawing it around a tree, in 
raising and keeping his head above the water until We- 
We had relieved him of his pack. While We-We was 
at work among the rocks, where the water was up to 
his neck, trying to relieve the horse of his burden, he 
told us that we might have saved ourselves that difficulty, 
if we had trusted to the honesty of an Indian ; and we 
ourselves began to suspect that our fears had been quite 
groundless. It required our utmost efforts to keep the 
horse from drowning ; but after we had relieved him of 
his load, he managed himself a little better, and finding a 
place which was not quite so steep as the one where he 
entered the river, we succeeded, at that point, in getting 
him on the rocky shore. All our bedding, provisions, 
&c., were thoroughly soaked ; but gathering up what 
was not spoiled, and putting some on the horses, and 
carrying some on our own shoulders, we started on, 
being informed by the guide, that it was not far to a fine 
prairie. Night began to set in, and as we left the scene 
of our disaster, we entered a dense forest of fir, and the 
gloom continued to thicken around us until we were en- 
veloped in total darkness. We were leading our animals 



116 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 

by the bridle, and feeling our way among the trees, in 
the midst of darkness, so dense that it was impossible to 
see a white horse, though within a foot of one's nose, 
when we became so entangled among the logs, ravines, 
and brush, that we found it was impossible to go either 
forwards or backwards, to the right or to the left, and 
colloquising a little through the darkness, we came to 
the conclusion to tie our horses to the trees, and make 
the best of the night we could. Having a few matches 
in my pocket, and the leaves and limbs under my feet 
being perfectly dry, I soon had the forest illuminated, 
and then was disclosed to our view a most horrible place. 
We sought for a spot on which to sleep, but could find 
none level and large enough to stretch ourselves upon. 
We must either bend over the top of a knoll, or double 
up in a ravine, or remain in a sitting or standing posture. 
We preferred the second, so wrapping ourselves in our 
wet blankets and rolling into a hollow, we tried to com- 
pose ourselves to sleep ; but the cracking of limbs by 
the tramp of our horses, the howling of wolves, and the 
screech of an owl, frequently disturbed our repose. The 
morning sun, however, enabled us so to adjust our rather 
disarranged affairs that we could, quite comfortably, 
prosecute our journey. Next day was Sabbath, but we 
could not remain where we were, and we proceeded 
on a few miles, and came to a band of about thirty of 
the Umpquas, with whom we tarried for several hours. 
They behaved themselves quite orderly, and were anx- 
ious to render us all the assistance in their power. We 
preached the gospel to them as well as we were able, 
and they said they wanted very much to have a mission- 
ary come among them. Not desiring to sleep in the 
vicinity of their lodge, we made signs of wishing to 
leave, and the old men came around us, of whom thei'e 
were several, and patting us on the shoulders, seemed 
to express great attachment. But we concluded that 
iheir love was not so ardent as to render it desirable, on 
our part, to stop with them over night, and, as our pro- 
vision was growing scarce, we decided to set our faces 
towards the Wallamette valley. Gathering up the wreck 



TOUR TO THK UMPQUA. 117 

of our pack, we again mounted, and traveling about 
twelve miles, encamped on the bank of a beautiful rivu- 
let which is one of the tributaries of the Umpqua. We 
traveled during the whole day the distance of twenty- 
five miles, over as fine a country as can be found in any 
part of the world. An agreeable variety of hills, plains, 
and groves of pine, fir, and oak, constituted scenery of 
the most picturesque beauty, and the eye was never 
weary in gazing upon the ever varying picture. In ad- 
dition to this, the soil is good, the grass abundant, and 
the country well watered ; but as we proceeded up the 
valley of the Umpqua, the timber became scarce. A 
few pine on the hills, with a few scattering oak, are the 
principal kinds. Though the country is now destitute 
of inhabitants, except the wild beasts, and a few savages 
as wild as they, yet the day is not far distant, when it 
will be teeming with a civilized and christian people. 

The Indians inhabiting the Umpqua valley, from the 
Pacific ocean one hundred miles into the interior, are 
very few. All that we could find, or get any satisfac- 
tory evidence as now in existence, did not exceed three 
hundred and seventy-five souls. These live in several 
diflferent clans, and speak two distinct languages. They 
would be favorable towards the establishment of a mis- 
sion in their country, but seem to think that the greatest 
benefit it would confer on them, would be to enable them 
to sell their beaver and deer-skins for a higher price. 
Temporal good is the sole object they would have in 
view. The most of them, residing as they do on the 
coast, are almost inaccessible, and the establishment and 
support of a mission among them, would be attended 
with immense expense. The best information we could 
obtain, from the Indians and others, led us to the conclu- 
sion that the time doubtless has been when the Indians 
of this valley were vastly more numerous than at present. 
The Umpqua tribe, but a few years ago numbering seve- 
ral hundred, by disease and their family wars has been 
reduced to less than seventy-five souls. . Under the im- 
pression that the doom of extinction is suspended over 
this wretched race, and that the hand of Providence is 



118 TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 

removing them to give place to a people more worthy 
of this beautiful and fertile country, we arrived at the 
place of our encampment, and found ourselves again on 
the great California trail. 

Having fulfilled his engagement in bringing us around 
to this trail, our guide left us to return to his people. 

Monday, September 1st. We quickened our pace 
through a country well adapted to agricultural purposes, 
and abounding in every variety of scenery ; and at noon, 
having traveled twenty-five miles, we stopped for dinner 
on Elk river, at the place where, on going out, we left 
the California trail. In the afternoon, we again passed 
over the Elk mountain, and found that the fire was still 
raging with increasing violence. A vast quantity of the 
large fir and cedar timber, had been burned down, and 
in some places the trail was so blockaded with fallen 
trees, that it was almost impossible to proceed ; while 
now and then we passed a giant cedar, or a mammoth 
fir, through whose trunk the fire had made a passage, 
and was still flaming like an oven. Every few moments 
these majestic spars would come " cracking, crashing, 
and thundering" to the ground ; but while the fire was 
thus robbing the mountain of its glory, we pushed on 
over its desolated ridges, and at sun-down arrived on a 
little prairie at its base, where we made our encampment. 
Several times during the night we were awakened by 
the crash of the falling timber, on the mountain, which 
sometimes produced a noise similar to that of distant 
thunder. 

Tuesday, 2d. Homeward bound, at noon we arrived 
in the Wallamette valley, where, according to engage- 
ment, we met the Callapooah chief He had collected 
about sixty of his people, and said that he had about 
forty more. We remained with them four hours, and 
endeavored to preach to them "Jesus and the resurrec- 
tion. " Many of them were sick, and they appeared 
wretched beyond description. Our bowels of compassion 
yearned over them, but it was not in our power to help 
them. Commending them to God, at four, p. m., we 
pursued our way ; but finding no water, we did not 



TOUR TO THE UMPQUA. 119 

camp till eleven o'clock at night. We were then obliged 
to strip our horses on the open prairie, and turn them 
loose without water, and lay ourselves down upon our 
blankets with our lips parched with thirst. Next morn- 
ing, however, we found ourselves, like Hagar in the 
desert, within a short distance of good water. Here I 
roasted a duck for our breakfast, which the Callapooah 
chief had given us, and which we ate with neither bread 
nor sauce ; but a cup of coffee, that " sine qua non " for 
prairie travehng, washed it down, and on the strength 
of it, we traveled forty miles, during the day, over a 
country of surpassing loveliness, on account of its en- 
chanting scenery and amazing fertility. Surely, thought 
I, infinite skill has here been employed, in fitting up a 
country which requires nothing more than a population 
under the influence of the religion of Christ, to render 
it a perfect paradise. The last night we encamped within 
fifteen miles of our families and friends, and the next 
day, Thursday, the 4th, we arrived at home in safety, 
but found our families all prostrate with the ague and 
fever. Having been constantly in a healthy exercise in 
our absence, we returned in the enjoyment of good 
health, and were consequently able to render ourselves 
useful in taking care of the sick. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Tour to Vancouver — Reception at the fort — Preaching in the hall — Business 
completed — Expedient to keep warm — Cold weather — Difficult navigation — 
The rapids — Forest encampment — Strange visitor — Affecting intelligence — 
Death of Rev, James Olley — My Mohican guest — Return home — Meeting — 
Fruitless attempt to recover a dead body. 

December 7th 1 842. Left the Wallamette for Van- 
couver, for the purpose of procuring supphes for the 
Oregon Mission School, accompanied by five Indian 
boys. 

Proceeded on horse-back about tw^enty-five miles to a 
place on the Wallamette river, called, by the French, 
"La Butte," this being the most convenient place to 
land our supplies. Here, after having slept beneath the 
w^ide spreading branches of a large fir tree, we took the 
canoe v^hich is kept by the mission above the falls of the 
Wallamette, for the purpose of transporting goods up 
and dow^n the river, and proceeded to " Tum Water, " 
that is, the falls. We left our canoe above the portage, 
and taking a boat provided for us by Mr. Abernethy, 
the mission stev^ard, we continued on about fifteen miles 
below the falls, and encamped one hour after sundown, 
having rowed our canoe and boat during the day the 
distance of thirty-five miles. 

The night was very cold, but collecting a large quan- 
tity of fuel, we were able to keep up a good fire during 
the night, and in this manner kept ourselves comfortably 
warm. Started the next morning as soon as it was day, 
and, though for six miles we had to contend with the 
strong current of the Columbia, we arrived at Vancouver 
at two o'clock, p. M. I went directly to the fort, and 
had an interview with James Douglass, Esq., one of the 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 121 

commandants of the place, and ascertained that I should 
be able to accomplish my business early on Monday 
moi'ning. I was received with all that courtesy and 
hospitality which usually characterize the gentlemen of 
the Hudson's Bay Company. It was Saturday, and in 
the evening I received a respectful invitation from Mr. 
Douglass, to preach in the hall, the following day. Ac- 
cordingly, after the usual church service was read, I 
endeavored to explain and enforce the inquiry of the 
jailer — "What must I do to be saved 1" 

On Monday morning, the 11th, having completed my 
business, and prepared to return, we proceeded to our 
boat, and found the Columbia river filled with ice. The 
weather had been increasingly cold, and the ice came 
down the river in large fields, and threatened to put a 
stop, for the time being, to the navigation of the stream. 
However, it had not yet become very hard, and though 
there was some danger in the attempt, yet we launched 
forth into the stream, and breaking our way through the 
ice with our setting poles, we at length succeeded in 
getting safely into the mouth of the Wallamette. 

This river being clear from ice, we proceeded up 
about seven miles, and encamped under a high bluft', 
which sheltered us from the piercing winds from the 
north-east. The ground being frozen, the weather ex- 
ceedingly cold, and, withal, a scarcity of bedding, I took 
the following precaution to ensure a comfortable night : 
J built a large fire where I designed to make my bed, 
and after the earth became thoroughly warmed and 
dried, I removed the fire a little distance, and plucking 
some fir boughs, threw them upon the heated earth ; 
then spreading my buffalo skin upon the boughs, I lay 
down upon it, and with a couple of blankets over me, 
slept comfortably during the night. 

Next day at noon, we arrived at the falls, and on 
Wednesday, the 13th, made our portage. At two, p. 
M., we proceeded up the rapids above the falls, which, 
at that season of the year, are very difficult of ascent. 
They are ascended by cordeling, and it is frequently 
necessary to work for hours in the water among the 



122 TOUR TO VANCOUVER, 

rocks, in order to get up one boat load, an exercise any- 
thing but agreeable when the mercury is nearly dov^n to 
zero. We succeeded, however, with much toiling, and 
a severe wetting, in reaching the deep water above the 
rapids, without any serious accident, and at night en- 
camped seven miles above the falls, in a dense forest of 
fir trees. I had preserved a few matches from getting 
wet, and succeeded, after awhile, in striking up a good 
fire, though the wood where we were encamped was 
very wet. I cooked me a supper of fresh salmon, not 
forgetting to make a good cup of tea; and after partak- 
ing of my humble repast from my ground table, with 
that pecuhar rehsh which good health and hard labor 
always give to wholesome food, and offering up a tribute 
of thanksgiving to Providence for the blessings of the 
past, and invoking a continuance of his favors, I spread 
my skins and blankets upon the ground, and reclined 
myself to rest. 

As I lay stretched upon my bed of skins before the 
fire, musing upon the good providence of God, which 
had been manifested in our preservation amid the dan- 
gers to which we had been exposed in ascending the 
fearful rapids, I was startled by the voice of a man from 
the river below us, inquiring, '^What boat is that?" I 
replied, it belongs to the Oregon mission. " Then," said 
he, " I will come ashore." It was ten o'clock at night, 
and it was quite an uncommon thing for boats to remain 
upon the river to so late an hour. Consequently, I felt 
quite sohcitous to know who the stranger might be. The 
sound of his oars, as they fell upon the water, grew 
louder and louder as he approached the shore, and in a 
few minutes he was along side of our boat, to which he 
fastened his small skiff. Clambering up the precipitous 
bank of the river through the thick underbrush, the light 
of our fire reheved me of some anxiety, as it shone upon 
the face of a " half-breed " Indian, direct from the place 
where I resided, which was forty miles above. 

This half-breed was an educated man, and a sketch of 
his history may be found below. After giving me the 
gratifying intelligence that my own familv were well, he 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 123 

inquired if I had heard the sad news. " What nev^^s V 
said I, " I have heard nothing sad." ^' Then," said he, 
**I am the bearer of intelHgence concerning the most 
afflicting event that has ever transpired in our settle- 
ment: the Rev. James Olley is no more.''^ IntelHgence 
more unexpected could scarcely have been communica- 
ted; and v^hen the circumstances of the removal of Mr. 
Olley from this stage of action w^ere related, the effect 
upon my mind was quite overpowering. 

Mr. Olley was a local preacher in the Oregon mission, 
and sailed from New York in the fall of 1839, with the 
large reinforcement in the ship Lausanne. He was a 
carpenter by trade, and after his arrival in Oregon, con- 
tinued to serve the mission in that capacity, as he was 
able. He was making preparations to build himself a 
house, and desiring some better lumber than any he could 
obtain in the vicinity of the mission for the purpose of 
making window sash, he had employed a young man by 
the name of Eiken to accompany him up the Wallamette 
river about twenty miles, where there was pine timber, 
with the design of procuring a couple of logs and run- 
ning them down the river to the mission saw-mill, where 
they could be cut into boards to suit his purpose. He 
proceeded to the pinery, and cutting two small sized logs 
rolled them into the water, but found that they were so 
heavy they would not float. He had designed to take 
them in tow, but finding that they would sink to the 
bottom, he resolved upon this expedient, to raise them 
to the surface, and lash a log to each side of his canoe. 
All being prepared they entered the canoe thus encum- 
bered, and committed themselves to the rapid and 
treacherous current of Wallamette river. The weather 
was exceedingly cold, as it had been for a number of 
weeks previously, and the water in the river coming 
down from the snowy mountains of the east, was as cold 
as the ice itself. 

As there had been but little rain during the fall, the 
river was not high, but there are places in it at all stages 
of the water, which are very rapid, and it requires great 
skill and dexterity to run them in safety even with an 



124 TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 

empty canoe. However, they proceeded down the 
current about ten miles, without accident, Mr. Eiken 
being in the stern, and Mr. Olley in the bow of the 
canoe, when they came to one of the fearful rapids with 
which the river abounds. At this place is a ledge of 
rocks extending across the bed of the stream, which 
rises out of the water in one place, forming a small 
island. The rapid commences a short distance above 
this ledge, and where the water breaks over the rocks it 
becomes exceedingly violent. Neither Mr. Olley nor 
Eiken had ever passed up or down this part of the river, 
consequently they were entirely ignorant of the dangers 
of the place; but there was no alternative, they were 
already in the strength of the current, and to make the 
shore on either side was impossible. Consequently they 
were carried with great violence on the rocks about 
fifteen yards from the little island, and about forty yards 
from the opposite shore. The bow of the canoe and logs 
first struck the rocks, and the stern swung so violently 
down that Eiken was thrown clear from the canoe into 
the strongest part of the current. But, being young, 
vigorous and active, he succeeded in making the shore 
about three hundred yards below, but he was so much 
exhausted through exertion, and benumbed by the cold, 
that when he reached the shore he was scarcely able to 
move; and while struggling in the icy water just before 
reaching the place where he could gain a foothold on the 
bottom, he was on the point of yielding to the fury of 
the current, and giving himself up for lost. But he 
escaped to tell a more solemn tale concerning the fate of 
his comrade. As soon as Eiken possibly could, he returned 
to the place opposite where the canoe and logs struck, 
and observed that Mr. Olley, having held fast to the raft, 
and now being on one of the logs, was looking round as 
if to contrive what course to pursue. 

He called out to him and inquired, "what are you 
going to do]" Mr. Olley made no reply. Probably 
from the noise of the water rushing over the rocks, he 
did not hear him. Eiken thought he might have been 
bewildered. He directly sat down on the log and pulled 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 125 

off his shoes and stockings, and threw them into the 
river, keeping on his pantaloons, coat and cap. He then 
deliberately plunged himself into the stream, and was 
carried violently down the dashing current. Having 
learned to swim in his youth, he kept his head above the 
water for some time, and appeared to be nearing the 
shore. Eiken pursued him down as fast as he could, 
but could not keep up with him, such was the rapidity of 
the current. As he was borne downward a large log 
which extended into the stream, hid him from Eiken's 
view. Previously to this, his motion in the water be- 
came more irregular, and he appeared to have turned 
himself on his back, and to have thrown up his hands 
as in the attitude of prayer, or calling for help. He had 
then doubtless given up all hopes of making the shore, 
and was committing himself into the hands of his God. 
Be this as it may, when Eiken succeeded in getting 
round the log so that he could command a view of the 
river below, our beloved associate, friend, and father, 
had passed forever from the view of mortals. 

These facts coming to my ears under the circumstan- 
ces already described, for awhile weighed down my 
spirits, but a few hours of refreshing slumber after 
midnight, quieted my nerves, and the next morning found 
me prepared to resume my toils and exposures. 

My visitor in camp, continued wdth me for a couple of 
hours, and after refreshing himself from my almost ex- 
hausted stores, observed that he was in a great hurry to 
get down to the mouth of the Columbia river to secure 
a piece of land which still remained unoccupied, and this 
explained his running in the night. He had been in the 
country about two years, and as there had been many 
reports in circulation concerning him, I resolved to avail 
myself of the opportunity thus afforded me to obtain 
from himself some' facts in relation to his history. 

'* I once, " said he, '^ saw a book which was entitled, 
* The last of the Mohicans ; ' but I could tell the author 
a different story from that. " In answer to my inquiries, 
I learned from him the following particulars. He was 
born in New England, and his father being a white 



126 TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 

man, he was therefore a proper yankee. His mother 
vi^as an Indian v^oman, a relic of the Mohican tribe, and 
he was therefore a Mohican. He grew up to manhood 
in company with a brother of his, received a tolerably 
good English education, and was known by the name of 
J. L. M. Cooper. He and his brother, sick of the prcr 
judices existing against them in their own country, re- 
solved upon going to sea. They accordingly shipped on 
board a trading vessel bound to the Pacific, and after a 
voyage of several months, found themselves collecting 
Spanish hides, on the coast of California. Not liking the 
business very well, and finding themselves in a country 
where they would like to remain, they resolved, when 
the vessel was about to leave, to desert her, and take up 
their residence in California. They succeeded in their 
designs, but had not been long in the country before J. 
L. M. Cooper found himself involved in serious difficul- 
ties with the Californians. He treated some of them 
roughly, and they accused him also of using too great 
liberties with their property, particularly their horses, 
and finally became so enraged against him as to resolve 
upon taking his life. There was a Spaniard in particular, 
who, he believed, would take the first opportunity to 
carry this threat into execution. He accordingly secre- 
ted himself in a jungle, where his wants were supplied 
by his friends, and where he designed to wait until a 
company of trappers and hunters belonging to the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, then in California, should start 
aci'oss the country for the Columbia river. By joining 
this company he hoped to escape the vengeance of the 
Spaniards. Betrayed by one in whom he had placed 
confidence, he would have lost his life but for a double 
betrayal. His place of concealment had been discovered 
by his determined foe, and the night fixed upon in which 
he was to die. In his turn Cooper's enemy was betrayed, 
and Cooper was informed that on a certain night he must 
prepare for a deadly encounter. 

The night arrived ; Cooper built a large fire ; made 
up the form of a man ; put his cap on his head, and laid 
it down before the fire as if to sleep. He had loaded 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 12'> 

his unerring rifle during the day, and examining it a Httle 
by the Hght of the fire to see that the percussion cap 
vi^as in perfect order, he retreated a few steps from the 
fire, and hid himself in a place he had prepared for that 
purpose, in a dense thicket. At length he heard the 
stealthy footsteps of the vengeful Spaniard, as he cau- 
tiously approached his victim, whom he supposed he saw 
stretched in sleep before the fire. The Spaniard cast 
his dark eye along his rifle several times, and then would 
venture a little nearer, to make a surer aim. At length, 
click, crack, hang ! went the rifle, and the report seemed 
to linger long amid the darkness of the night, and three 
balls had pierced the slumbenng image before the fire. 
At this moment Cooper stepped out from his conceal- 
ment ; brought his rifle deliberately to his face, and the 
report rising upon the midnight air, the Spaniard was in 
eternity. The ball had pierced his heart. 

The company of hunters were already scores of miles 
on their way to Oregon, and Cooper, securing one of 
the best horses he could find, perhaps without rendering 
an equivalent, soon placed himself beyond the reach of 
his enemies, on the south side of the Snowy mountains. 
This is Cooper's version of the story. Another is this : 
that he deliberately murdered a Spaniard in a gambling 
aflfray, and then escaped from California with the com- 
pany above mentioned, upon a stolen horse. Be this as 
it may, the hour of midnight had arrived when my Mo- 
hican guest had finished his story, and then rising from 
the ground, he buckled his belt, from which dangled a 
large butcher-knife, a little tighter around him, and 
thanking me for his supper, said, " I must go. " Splash, 
splash, splash, went the oars, as he glided away from 
the shore, and was lost amidst the surrounding dark- 
ness. 

On Thursday, the 14th, arrived in safety at "La 
Butte, " and landed our goods. I sent back the Indian 
boys with the canoe to the falls, to get a load of salmon 
and molasses, remaining myself with the goods over 
night, and sleeping between two large roots of a fir 
tree. 



128 TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 

On Friday, according to arrangement, a team was 
sent to meet me at the Butte to receive the goods, and 
a horse to convey me home, where I arrived in safety 
at nine o'clock in the evening, after an absence of eight 
days. Found my family in good health, but the neigh- 
borhood wore a gloomy aspect. One of its prominent 
members, had, in a most afflicting manner, been called 
away, and all appeared to mourn, but not without hope. 

Sunday, 17th. Preached to a number of the mission- 
aries and settlers, from the words of the Evangelist, 
^'And beginning to sink, he cried, saying. Lord, save 
me. " 

On Monday, the 18th, in company with Rev. Jason 
Lee, procured a canoe, and a number of persons to assist 
in rowing it, and about sundown started up the river for 
the purpose of examining the place where the sad catas- 
trophe, before related, transpired, and of searching for 
the body of our friend and brother Olley. We proceeded 
up the river about two miles and encamped for the night. 
Next morning continued slowly up the strong current, 
examining every nook, corner, and place where we sup- 
posed it to be possible for a body to lodge, and were 
encouraged to believe that we should succeed from find- 
ing one Mackinaw blanket, two coats, one bear-skin, and 
one paddle, all of which belonged to Mr. Eiken. At 
one o'clock, p. m., we arrived at the place where the 
fatal disaster occurred, and found that the current con- 
tinued exceedingly strong about three-quarters of a mile 
below the place where the canoe struck the rocks. The 
river then widens into a kind of basin, broad and deep, 
and, judging from those places where it can be seen, 
with a very rough bottom. We examined the place as 
minutely as possible, but no vestige of the body could 
be discovered. This was the tenth day after the acci 
dent. Fatigued with the constant exertions of the da}-, 
at dark we drew our canoe ashore ; cooked our supper 
upon the shingle beach, and cast ourselves down upon 
our blankets, to rest for the night. Repeating our ex- 
amination the next morning, with as little success as the 
day previous, we came to the conclusion, however desir- 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 129 

ous we might be to rescue the body of our friend from 
a wateiy grave, it would no more be seen until that day 
should arrive when the seas, and the rivers also, shall 
give up their dead. As we descended the river tow^ards 
the place of our embarkation, this passage of holy writ 
cheered our otherwise drooping spirits : '* If we believe 
that Jesus died and rose again, even so also them which 
sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. " 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Another tour — Rock Island rapids— The Jesuit — Stormy encampment — Return 
— Hospitality — Story of our host — Mr. Cornelius Rogers — Party increase — 
La Butte — Lonely Sabbath — Arrival home — Mr. Rogers and party — Meet- 
ing at the hospital — Indian Messenger — Sad tidings — Great bereavement — 
Esq. Crocker — Call to civil duties — Thomas McKay — Great rain — Estate 
of Mr. Rogers — Retui-n — Great freshet — Damages — Safe arrival home. 

January 16th, 1843. Left home in company with L. 
H. Judson, for the purpose of performing another trip to 
Vancouver. We took a hght canoe belonging to Mr. 
Lee, and shot out of a Kttle cove w^hich runs up within 
a half mile of our house, into the strong current of the 
Wallamette, and the water being high, we glided down 
with great rapidity, and at seven o'clock, p. m., encamped 
on a high bank on the left hand side of the river, having 
run the distance of forty miles. 

Tuesday, the 17th, being favored with a good moon, 
we started, at five o'clock, and at daylight run the Rock 
Island rapids in safety. This place is considered danger- 
ous at the present stage of water. Some accidents, 
though not of a very serious character, have recently 
happened here. Not long since a Jesuit priest, by the 
name of Blanchet, was passing up the river in a canoe 
manned with Indians and haff-breeds, and loaded with 
mill-irons, as he was making arrangements to erect mills 
in the French settlement above. Arriving at this place, 
they attempted to ascend the rapids ; but in doubling a 
point of rocks, around which the water rushed with 
great violence, they were borne down with fearful force 
to where they were in danger of being drawn under an 
immense raft, lying in the river. They struggled in vain 
to govern their canoe, and being greatly alarmed, in their 
eagerness to secure it, it was capsized, emptying them- 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 131 

selves, mill-irons, and all into the river. Some of them 
struggled long in the water, but finally succeeded, some 
one v^^ay, and some another, in getting safe to land, 
happy in the consideration that the loss they had sus- 
tained could possibly be repaired. Though the follow^ers 
of the '' Padre " w^ere sanguine in the belief that he 
possessed the powder of working miracles, yet he has 
never been able to raise his mill-irons from the bottom 
of Rock Island channel. 

Proceeded on our journey, and at sunrise arrived at 
the falls, and took breakfast with our good friend, George 
Abernethy, Esq. At eleven o'clock, continued our voy- 
age, though with the prospect of bad weather. At 
twelve it became quite cold, and began to rain and hail. 
It continued storming without intermission, during the 
afternoon. This rendered it extremely disagreeable 
traveling, but there was no alternative ; so we continued 
to ply the paddle, though iced with the falHng sleet, until 
it began to grow dusk. Arriving at a small promontory 
covered with fir timber, twenty miles below the falls, 
we landed, and commenced making preparations for a 
stormy night. We were thoroughly drenched with rain, 
though, as good luck would have it, we had preserved 
our fire-works from getting wet. The storm beat upon 
us with violence, but we were twenty miles distant from 
human habitation, and had no choice ; we must prepare 
to make ourselves as comfortable as possible during the 
night, though our prospects were exceedingly gloomy. 
The first thing to be done was to kindle a fire, no desir- 
able task when every thing is as wet as rain can make it. 
However, selecting a place at the leeward of two large 
firs, that we might be the more sheltered from the wind 
and storm, after about half an hour, and when patience 
had performed ''her perfect work," we succeeded in 
kindhng a small blaze, which by extreme care we soon 
increased to a comfortable fire. 

Having prepared our evening's repast, we partook of 
it with a keen relish, while the large drops from the 
spreading branches of the fir-trees, as they were shaken 
with the wind, fell in showers upon us. 



132 TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 

Supper being over, we managed partially to dry our 
blankets and skins, and spreading them upon the wet 
ground, v^e lay ourselves to rest. I spread an umbrella 
over my head to shelter it from the large drops from the 
trees and the rain and sleet from the clouds, and, de- 
spite the storm, slept soundly until six o'clock in the 
morning. 

Next day proceeded on to Fort Vancouver, and the 
following day accomplished our business and prepared 
to return. 

Thursday, 19th. Left Vancouver in the morning, and 
after a day of hard toiling in a continued storm of snow^ 
and rain, arrived, late in the evening, at the house of 
Richard McCary, about five miles below^ the Wallamette 
falls. The night was excessively cold and stormy, and 
we were pleased to be sheltered beneath a friendly roof. 
Our host had spent the prime of his life in ranging the 
Rocky mountains, as a hunter and trapper, and enter- 
tained us with anecdotes of his hair-breadth escapes 
from the the hostile Sioux and Blackfeet. At one time, 
he, with seven other Americans, ventured far from the 
general rendezvous of the hunters, in the country of 
the Blackfeet, for the purpose of trapping beaver. The 
country was entirely destitute of timber, except here 
and there a small bunch of bushes, which grew in the 
swails. They pitched their tent on the banks of a small 
rivulet, on the open prairie, within a little distance of 
one of these thickets ; designing, if they were attacked 
by the Blackfeet, to retreat to the thicket, and there de- 
fend themselves and protect their property. 

One morning, as they went down to the stream to 
examine their traps, McCary being in advance of the 
rest of the party, a troop of Blackfeet warriors came 
dashing over a rise of ground, but a short distance in 
front of them, numbering, as they supposed, two or three 
hundred. As the Americans wheeled and ran towards 
their tent, the Blackfeet poured a volley of musket balls 
after them. McCary fell upon his face to the ground ; 
a ball had entered the back side of his neck, and come 
out at one of his cheeks. No bone being broken, he 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 133 

soon recovered his senses, but as he could not instantly 
move, he expected to feel the scalping knife passing over 
his skull bone ; but the Indians w^ere kept at bay by his 
seven comrades, w^ho, by this time, had secured their 
rifles and ammunition. Firing a round or tv^o, and see- 
ing some of the Indians fall, to their astonishment they 
saw McCary, w^hom they supposed to have been shot 
dead, rushing towards them to join them in their retreat 
to the thicket. 

Here they continued the fight, the Indians with great 
bravery venturing up very near the thicket ; but their 
musket balls and poisoned arrows took effect only upon 
the bushes and logs which formed the fort of the Ameri- 
cans; while the latter scarcely discharged a rifle but 
that an Indian was seen to lick the dust. The Blackfeet 
finding that they could not destroy the Americans with- 
out losing too many of their men, gave up the contest ; 
and after securing their dead and wounded, and taking 
the property of the Americans, consisting of their tent, 
blankets, furs, traps and horses, they gave the shrill war 
whoop, and disappeared. After dressing McCary's 
wound as well as circumstances would admit, the trap- 
pers turned their faces back towards the rendezvous, 
where, after many days of suffering, they all arrived in 
safety. McCary, not reUshing such adventures, and 
fearing that the next bullet might not be so merciful as 
to shun the vital organs, resolved to leave his dangerous 
business ; and marrying a Nez Perse, he abandoned the 
Rocky mountains forever. 

Our entertainment with this story far exceeded the 
refreshment we received the remaining part of the night, 
by sleeping on the bare floor. 

Next morning proceeded to the falls, where we con- 
tinued during the day. 

Saturday, 21st. licft the falls at twelve, m., in com- 
pany with two other canoes, and arrived at " La Butte " 
one hour after dark, cold, hungry, and worn out with 
fatigue. Mr. Cornelius Rogers was in one of the canoes, 
on his way up to the settlement to get his wife and her 
sister, a little girl two years of age. Mr. Rogers had 



134 TOUR TO VANCOUVER 

entered into business at the falls, and having been mar- 
ried but a tew months, had not yet commenced keeping 
house. Moving up and dow^n the river is, for the w^ant 
of other means, done in canoes, alw^ays a dangerous 
mode of traveling. The three canoes contained about 
tw^enty persons, and all slept at the " Butte;" and though 
the night v^^as cold, many lay upon the ground w^ithout 
covering. 

On Sunday morning, the 22nd, Mr. Judson and Mr. 
Rogers, being entirely out of provisions, left camp on 
foot, and proceeded to the mission, where they arrived 
in the evening, hungry and nearly exhausted. Having 
a fevi^ remnants of food left, I resolved to remain in camp 
during the Sabbath; and, to make myself as comfortable 
as possible, I collected a quantity of v^ood and bark, and 
building a large fire under the lee of the lofty furs that 
line the banks of the river, and being left entirely alone, 
spent the day in reading and meditation. Sunday night 
there v^as quite a fall of rain and sleet, and though I 
slept alone in the forest, and in the morning found that 
ice had collected in my hair, yet, by the blessing of 
Providence, I received no injury. At five o'clock on 
Monday morning, I left the ''Butte" for my place of 
residence, where I arrived at noon, having traveled the 
distance of twenty-five miles. 

On Thursday, the 2nd day of February, Mr. Cornehus 
Rogers left the settlement with his family, consisting 
of his wife and her little sister, to remove to the falls, 
where he expected to settle. Wm. W. Raymond, a 
member of the Oregon mission, residing at the mouth of 
the Columbia river, had come up with the large mission 
canoe that would carry about three tons, for the purpose 
of taking back supplies for the station; and not having 
enough to load the canoe himself, he proposed to take 
Mr. Rogers and his effects down to the falls. Mr. 
Rogers gladly accepted of the offer; and as Dr. Elijah 
White, sub-agent of Indian Affairs in Oregon, and Esq. 
Crocker, late of Lansingville, Tompkins Co., N. Y., were 
desirous of visiting Clatsop, they had obtained the privi- 
lege of accompanying Mr. Raymond down the Columbia 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 135 

river. These all repaired to the river's side, apparently 
in high spirits; embarked on the ill-fated craft; the 
Indians plied their paddles dexterously, and they glided 
away from the sight of their friends on the shore, upon 
the smooth surface of the treacherous element 

Sunday, Feb. 5th. I preached at the Hospital to a few^ 
of the missionaries, some of whom had been the subjects 
of severe affliction for a great share of the time since 
they had been in the country. I endeavored to encour- 
age them from the words of St. Peter, '' Think it not 
strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, 
as though some strange thing happened unto you, 
but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's 
sufferings." The sufferings incident to our residence in 
a heathen land, and the disposition w4th which we should 
bear them, were the subjects of the discourse. 

The services had just been brought to a close, and I 
was about taking my leave to return to my family, ten 
miles up the river, w^hen an Indian, almost exhausted 
with running, came into Dr. Babcock's, where I had 
stopped a few moments, bearing a small package of let- 
ters. The running of the Indian, the number of letters, 
the season of the year, and the storminess of the day, 
all conspired to excite our fears, and create a presenti- 
ment within us, that some unusual occurrence had taken 
place. I broke the seal of my letter from George 
Abernethy at the falls, and, most shocking to relate, the 
first words that met my eye were as follows : 
" Dear Brother : — 

I have barely time to say that the mission canoe 
went over the falls yesterday evening with Mr. and 
Mrs. Rogers, Aurelia, and 'Squire Crocker and two 
Indians. We started immediately out with the mission 
boat, and reached within thirty yards of Mr. Rogers 
before he sank to rise no more." 

It appears that they proceeded from the place of em- 
barkation in safety, until they arrived at the head of the 
rapids, above the cataract. Here they all got out of the 
canoe, which they let down the rapids by a rope, and 
proceeded on foot down to a bluff rock which projects 



136 TOUR TO VANCOUVER, 

out into the stream, and is but a few steps from the place 
of landing. Here they ail got into the canoe again 
except Mr. Raymond and three Indians, who remained 
on shore, for the purpose of holding on to the rope which 
was fastened to the canoe to enable them to drop below 
the point of rocks in safety. They passed the point, and 
brought the canoe along side of a large log which the 
high water had carried in along the shore, and which 
was used as a kind of wharf. The instant the canoe 
struck the log, Dr. White stepped one foot on it, and 
leaning towards the shore, held on to the canoe with the 
other foot, but before another one could step on the log 
the current took the bow of the canoe, which was up the 
stream, and in an instant they were drawn into the 
strongest part of the current. Mr. Raymond and the 
Indians exerted themselves in vain to hold on to the rope; 
they were drawn into the river, and forced to let go, to 
save themselves. All efforts were vain, all hope was 
lost. At this perilous moment two Indians sprang from 
the canoe, and darted like lightning through the rushing 
flood, and gained the shore. As the canoe approached 
the awful verge, Mr. Rogers threw himself upon his 
knees before his wife, who remained in her seat, holding 
her little sister in her lap. For a moment all was still 
except the rushing waters, then a wail was heard above 
the roar of the angry flood — they had made the fatal 
plunge. Some of their bodies were seen a short time, 
floating below the falls, but before they could possibly 
be approached with a boat, they had all sunk into their 
watery graves. Thus terminated the mortal career of 
Esq. Crocker, Cornelius Rogers, his wife and her Httle 
sister, and two Indians. The remains of the first two 
were subsequently recovered, and committed to the 
earth; the others have never been found. If by some 
awful convulsion in nature the whole city of New York 
were to be submerged beneath the waves of the Atlantic 
ocean, the shock to the State could not be greater than 
was felt in the colony of Oregon, when the mission 
canoe, with her precious cargo, went over the falls. 
This awful dispensation of Providence wrapped the 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 137 

whole country in gloom, and indeed there v^^ere many 
circumstances which combined to render it truly afflicting. 
Mr. Rogers had formerly been a member of the 
Presbyterian mission in the upper country, and was re- 
garded as a very efficient missionary ; but becoming 
discouraged with the prospect there, he had asked and 
obtained a discharge from the mission, and for some time 
had made it his home in the Wallamette settlement. He 
had adopted Oregon as a place of permanent abode, and 
consequently asked and obtained the hand of Satira Les- 
lie, eldest daughter of Rev. David Leslie, though she 
was but fifteen years of age. When Mr. Leslie took 
his departure from the country to the Sandwich Islands, 
and perhaps to the United States, the September pre- 
vious, Mr. Rogers accompanied him down to the mouth 
of the Columbia river, in the brig Chenamus, Mr. LesHe 
having with him his entire family. It consisted of five 
interesting girls, he having buried his wife but a short 
time before. When the vessel was about ready to sail^ 
and bear Mr. Leslie and two of his daughters away, the 
marriage of Mr. Rogers with Satira was duly solemnized 
on board the ship, as she lay at anchor in Baker's Bay. 
Dr. J. P. Richmond officiated on the occasion. It was 
arranged that Mr. Rogers and his wife would take back 
to the Wallamette the two youngest daughters of Mr. 
Leslie, and take care of them until Mr. Leslie could 
provide for them in some other way, while the remaining 
two were to accompany their father to the Islands, and 
perhaps to the States. Accordingly, they thus separated 
in Baker's Bay, about the 1st of September, 1842, fondly 
indulging the expectation that, after a separation of a 
few months, or years at most, they would again meet, 
and spend many happy years in each others' society. 
But an inscrutable Providence ordered it otherwise. 

From the time that Mr. Rogers returned with his 
important charge from the mouth of the Columbia river, 
to the period of the fatal voyage down the Wallamette, 
he had been variously, though usefully employed ; and 
desiging to spend his days in Oregon, his feelings and 
interests were bound up in the country. He was justly 



138 TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 

regarded as one of the most useful men it contained, and 
consequently his sudden removal was considered as a 
great loss to the rising settlement. His young and 
blooming companion was not only every way worthy of 
her husband, but the darling of a fond and doting parent, 
and beloved by all that knew her. She was at my house 
but a short time previous to her leaving the settlement 
to attend her husband to the falls, and informed us that 
she designed to take her youngest sister, AureHa, a child 
two years old, with her, and leave the other, Helen, 
four years old, with Mrs. Gray. But for this arrange- 
ment, all three would have gone together ; but Helen 
lived to bear to her afflicted parent the melancholy 
tidmgs of the awful death of his eldest and youngest 
daughters. 

Esquire Crocker had been in the country but a short 
time. He performed the journey across the mountains 
for the benefit of his health. Liking the country better 
than he anticipated, he had come to the conclusion to 
send for his family and establish himself in Oregon ; but 
by one stroke of Providence his designs were forever 
frustrated. 

Having been appointed by the authorities of the coun- 
try to secure and appraise the property of the late Mr. 
CorneHus Rogers, the principal part of which was at the 
falls, I started for that place on the 9th of February, in 
company with Mr. W. H. Gray. Traveled ten miles, 
and stopped at Dr. Babcock's, who was the Judge of 
Probate, to get our instructions, and continued with him 
during the night. Next morning at daylight, proceeded 
on horseback towards Champoeg, but as there had been 
a fall of snow the day previous, and the rain was then 
falling in torrents, it was almost impossible to make 
headway. 

As we urged our way along, we found the streams 
and ravines so swollen, that the few bridges that had 
been made, were either carried away or afloat. How- 
ever, by fording some of the streams where the water 
covered the saddles, and swimming others which were 
not fordable, we succeeded in getting to Champoeg, the 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER, 139 

distance of sixteen miles, at one o'clock, p. m., thoroughly 
drenched. As it continued to rain violently during the 
afternoon, we concluded to stop until morning. 

Spent the night in a house or hut occupied by Charles 
Roe, an American, who was absent with his family from 
home. The w^ife of this man is the daughter of Thomas 
McKay, who was the son of the unfortunate man of the 
same name, who perished on the Tonquin, when she was 
blown up on the north-west coast. Her mother is a 
woman of the Nez Perce tribe. She is the sister of the 
three McKay boys who accompanied the Rev. Jason 
Lee from Oregon to the United States, in 1838. Her 
father has recently discarded the old Nez Perce woman, 
her mother, to whom he was never formally married, 
except after the Indian custom, and taken to himself a 
young half-breed, w^ho becomes his lawful wife under 
the sanction of a Roman Catholic priest. 

Rested as well as we could during the night on a 
naked plank, rose early in the morning, the rain pouring 
down with increasing violence. But our commission 
was one of urgency, so, turning horses loose upon the 
prairie, and borrowing a canoe, we struck out into the 
dashing current of the Wallamette. Already the banks 
of the river were full, and the rapidly increasing flood 
was rolling onw^ard wi.th fearful fury towards the Pacific, 
bearing upon its bosom immense quantities of floodwood, 
ever and anon undermining a large tree upon the shore, 
which would fall with a tremendous crash into the roar- 
ing flood; but keeping our cockle-shell craft in the centre 
of the stream, and carefully avoiding coming in contact 
with the numerous logs floating upon its surface, we 
proceeded down the distance of ten miles in about one 
hour. Fearing to attempt to run the dangerous rapids 
of Rock Island, we rowed our canoe into a little eddy 
some distance above, and fastened it to some trees. We 
then took our baggage on our backs, and proceeded on 
foot towards the falls, distant eight miles. A number 
of streams crossed our path, but passing some on logs, 
and wading through others, we arrived there at three 
o'clock, p. M. 



140 TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 

Sunday, 13th. I preached to about twenty Americans 
of different ages, from the invitation of Christ to those 
who labor and are heavy laden, and rejoiced in the con- 
sideration that there is rest in Christ. 

Monday, 14th. Attended to the duties imposed upon 
me in relation to Mr. Rogers' estate, in conne^xion with 
W. H. Gray and Robert Shortess. Found the estate to 
be worth fifteen hundred dollars, and the liabilities to 
amount to seven hundred. Ascertained that the heirs 
of Mr. Rogers reside in Utica, State of New York. 

Tuesday, 15th. Having accomplished our business, 
we left the falls at two, p. m., and returned to our canoe, 
where we encamped for the night. The river had con- 
tinued to rise until it was higher than it had been known 
for thirty years, and we knew it would be almost impos- 
sible to ascend with our canoe, yet there was no alter- 
native. The banks were overflown, and we were obliged 
to pull ourselves up the river by the bushes and trees on 
the shore, as, the moment our canoe was outside the 
the bushes, in spite of the combined strength of six men 
with their paddles, she would run astern. Toiling for 
seven hours, without cessation, except to take two rac- 
coons out of a hollow tree, where they had been driven 
by the flood, we found that we had ascended three miles 
only, and being above the mouth of Pudding river, we 
concluded to ^'cache^^ our canoe in the bushes, and try 
the rest of the way on foot. 

We found ourselves in a dense forest, but striking a 
bee line towards the south-east, after traveling some 
miles we struck the trail leading from the settlement to 
the falls, and at dark arrived at the house of a French- 
man near the Butte, and about three miles below Cham- 
poeg. 

Having no provision, I procured of the Frenchman a 
supper of fried venison, and a cup of tea, for which, 
with the privilege of furnishing a supper for ten thousand 
fleas, he charged me one dollar. It was the first bill of 
the kind I paid in Oregon, the people generally being 
quite hospitable. 

Next morning procceeded to Champoeg and found our 



TOUR TO VANCOUVER. 141 

trusty horses not far from w^here we turned them loose. 
The water had risen to an amazing height ; farms were 
swept of their fences, and farmers suffered heavy losses 
in grain, the water rising several feet deep in some of 
their barns. Thomas McKay had recently buil^ a large 
grist mill, and an old gentlemen by the name of Canning 
was tending the mill. In the morning when he awoke, 
as he slept in the mill, in the second story, the mill was 
standing in the centre of a large lake. Some persons at 
a distance, supposing that Canning must be in a perilous 
condition, procured a canoe, and sailing high over fields, 
fences, logs, &c., soon arrived at the mill, and running 
their canoe into the window of the second story, found 
Canning perched upon a high box, in one corner of the 
mill, awaiting some one to rescue him from his danger. 
No essential damage was done the mill, but several hun- 
dred bushels of wheat were lost. The flood coming so 
suddenly upon the valley, the herds on the bottom lands 
had not time to make their escape. Horses, cattle, hogs, 
&c., were swept away and drowned. 

This was a high flood, but from the appearance of the 
country, I am persuaded that it is subject to still greater 
inundations. 

Recovering our horses, we left Champoeg in the after- 
noon, and arrived at our homes the following evening, 
relieving our families from the painful anxiety into which 
they had been thrown for our safety in consequence of 
our exposure to the flood. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Panic — Indian troubles — Tour to the Interior — Causes — Precautions — Excitement 
increases — Mr. Brewer's letter — The Sub- Agent — Expedition resolved upon — 
Opposed by Dr. McLaughlin — Departure — A squall — Ascent of the Columbia 
— Mount Hood — Romantic scenery — Sabbath encampment — Reflections — 
Remarkable rocks — Cascades — How formed — Indian tradition confirmed — 
La Dallas — Canasissa — Negotiation — De Shutes — John Day — Sabbath Re- 
flections—Arrival at Dr. Whitman's — Interview with the Kayuse chiefs — 
Excursion — Adventure of Mr. Perkins — Party proceeds — Snake river — Red 
wolf— Laperai — Accident — Grotesque exhibition — Temperance training — 
Rev. Mr. and Mrs, Spaulding — Return to Dr. Whitman's — Interesting negotia- 
tion—Closing feast — Homeward — Story of the Waila-Walla chief — Peter 
Ogden — Arrival home. 

April 14. This settlement has been thrown into a panic 
by intelligence which has just been received from the 
upper country, concerning the hostile intentions of the 
Kayuse, Nez Perce, and Walla- Walla Indians. It appears 
that they have again threatened the destruction of the 
whites. Some time in October last, Indian report said 
that these tribes were coming down to kill off the Boston 
people, meaning those from the United States. This 
intelligence produced considerable excitement at the 
time, and induced the sub-agent of Indian Affairs to go 
directly to the upper country and ascertain the truth of 
the report, and if possible settle all matters of difficulty. 
On arriving among the Indians, he ascertained that the 
report was not without foundation ; but entered into such 
arrangements with them as appeared to give satisfaction. 
Thonias McKay contributed much to allay the excite- 
ment among them, and in connexion with the sub-agent, 
induced the Nez Perces to adopt a code of laws, and 
appoint a head chief and inferior chiefs, sufficient to 
carry the laws into execution. It had been the policy of 
the Hudson's Bay Company to destroy the chieftainship, 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 143 

cut .the different tribes into smaller clans, and divide 
their interests as far as posssible so as to weaken them, 
and render them incapable of injuring the whites, by pre- 
venting them from acting in concert. But the sub-agent 
adopted a different policy. , The individual appointed to 
the high chieftainship over the Nez Perces, was one 
Ellis, as he was called by the English, who, having spent 
several years in the settlement on the Red river, east 
of the mountains, had, with a smattering of the English 
language, acquired a high sense of his own importance ; 
and consequently, after he was appointed chief, pursued 
a very haughty and overbearing course. The fulfillment 
of the laws which the agent recommended for their 
adoption, was required by Ellis with the utmost rigor. 
Individuals were severely punished for crimes which, 
from time immemorial, had been committed by the 
people with impunity. This occasioned suspicions in 
the minds of the Indians generally, that the whites de- 
signed the ultimate subjugation of their tribes. They 
saw in the laws they had adopted, a deep-laid scheme of 
the whites to destroy them, and take possession of their 
country. The arrival of a large party of emigrants 
about this time, and the sudden departure of Dr. Whit- 
man to the United States, with the avowed intention 
of bringing back with him as many as he could enhst for 
Oregon, served to hasten them to the above conclusion. 
That a great excitement existed among the Indians in 
the interior, and that they designed to make war upon 
the settlement, was only known to the whites through 
the medium of vague report, until a letter was received 
from H. K. W. Perkins, at the Dalls, in which he informed 
us that the Wascopam and Walla- Walla Indians had 
communicated to him in substance the following inform- 
ation : that the Indians are very much exasperated 
against the whites in consequence of so many of the 
latter coming into the country, to destroy their game, 
and take away their lands ; that the Nez Perces dis- 
patched one of their chiefs last winter on snow shoes, to 
visit the Indians in the buffalo country east of Fort Hall, 
for the purpose of exciting them to cut off the party 



144 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

that it is expected Dr. Whitman will bring back with 
him to settle the Nez Perce country ; that the Indians 
are endeavoring to form a general coalition for the pur- 
pose of destroying all the Boston people : that it is not 
good to kill a part of them, and leave the rest, but that 
every one of them must be destroyed. This information 
produced a great excitement throughout the community, 
and almost every man had a plan of his own by which 
to avert the impending storm. In the estimation of some, 
the Indians were to be upon us immediately, and it was 
unsafe to retire at night, for fear the settlement would 
be attacked before morning. The plan of the agent was 
to induce men to pledge themselves, under the forfeiture 
of one hundred dollars in case of dehnquency, to keep 
constantly on hand, and ready for use, either a good 
musket or a rifle, and one hundred charges of ammuni- 
tion, and to hold themselves in readiness to go at the call 
of the agent to any part of the country, not to exceed 
two days travel, for the purpose of defending the settle- 
ment, and repelling any savage invaders. This plan 
pleased some of the people, and they put down their 
names ; but many were much dissatisfied with it, and 
as we had no authority, no law, no order, for the time 
being, in the country, it was impossible to tell what 
would be the result, if the Indians should attempt to 
carry their threats into execution. 

April 14th. Information was brought to the settle- 
ment from the Klackamas tribe of Indians, who live three 
miles below the falls of the Wallamette, which served to 
increase the excitement occasioned by the reports fi'om 
the interior. It appears that an Indian of the Molala 
tribe, connected with the Klackamas Indians by marriage, 
stole a horse from a man by the name of Anderson, and 
when asked by the latter if he had stolen his horse and 
rode him off, answered, " Yes, I stole your horse, and 
when I want another one I shall steal him also." To 
this Anderson replied, " If you stole my horse you must 
pay me for him." " Yes," said the Indian, '' I will pay 
you for him, take that horse," pointing to a very poor 
horse which stood near by, with one eye out, and a very 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 145 

sore back. Anderson replied, " That is a very poor horse 
and mine was a very good one; I shall not take him, and 
if you don't bring him back I will report you to Dr. 
White." ''I am not afraid of Dr. White," said the 
Indian, " let him come if he wants to, and bring the 
Boston people with him; he will find me prepared for 
him." 

Anderson not being able to effect a settlement with 
the Indian, immediately reported him to the agent, 
whereupon the latter wrote to a man at the falls by the 
name of Campbell, to take a sufficient number of men 
armed with muskets, and go very early in the morning 
to the Indian cauip, and take the horse-thief a prisoner, 
and bring him up to the falls. Accordingly, Campbell 
procured five men, and w^ent to the camp as commanded, 
but found thirty or forty Indians painted in the most 
hideous manner, and armed with muskets, bows and 
arrows, tomahawks, and scalping knives, and determined 
at all events to protect the horse-thief, and drive back 
those that should come to take him. Campbell rushed 
on to take the rogue, but met with such resistance from 
superiority of numbers, and finding that the enterprise, 
if urged forward, would terminate in bloodshed, if not 
in the loss of all their lives, sounded a retreat, and extri- 
cating himself from the Indians, returned to the falls. 
He communicated the results of his attempt to Dr. 
White, and the Doctor started off immediately in com- 
pany with G. W. Le Breton, resolved to capture the thief 
and bring the tribe to terms. 

April 17th. The excitement still continued, former 
reports having been confirmed, and all were engaged in 
repairing guns, and securing ammunition. A report was 
in circulation that Dr. McLaughlin refused to grant sup- 
plies for any consideration to all those persons who sub- 
scribed the memorial praying the Congress of the United 
States to extend jurisdiction over Oregon. If this be so, 
the American population, as nearly all signed the memo- 
rial, will not be able to obtain ammunition, however 
necessary it may be, as there is none in the country 
except what may be found within the stockades of Van- 



146 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

couver. I think, however, that the report is false 
Report says, furthermore, that the Khkitat Indians are 
collecting together back of the Tuahty plains, bat for 
what purpose is not known. The people on the plains, 
consisting of about thirty families, are quite alarmed. 
There is also a move among the Calapooahs. Shoefon, 
one of the principal men of the tribe, left this place a 
few days ago, and crossed the Wallamette river, declar- 
ing that he would never return until he came with a 
band of men to drive off the Boston people. He was 
very much offended because some of his people were 
seized and flogged, through the influence of Dr. White, 
for having stolen horses from some of the missionaries, 
and flour from the mission mill. His influence is not 
very extensive among the Indians or we might have 
much to fear. The colony is indeed in a most defence- 
less condition; two hundred Indians, divided into four 
bands, might destroy the entire settlement in one night. 

In the evening of the 17th, Dr. White arrived at my 
house bringing intelligence from the falls. He and Mr. 
Le Breton attempted to go to the falls on horseback, but 
in trying to ford Haunchauke river, they found the water 
so deep that they were obliged to swim, and the Doctor 
turned his horse's head, and came out the side he went 
in; but Le Breton, being the better mounted of the two, 
succeeded in gaining the opposite shore; and having the 
Doctor's letters in his possession, continued on to the 
falls. The Doctor returned to the settlement. Le Breton 
returned the following day, and brought information 
from the five men who attempted to take the Indian who 
had stolen Anderson's horse, that soon after their retreat 
the Indians became alarmed and broke up in great haste; 
but before they left, they informed Anderson that the 
horse they had stolen from him was worn out and good 
for nothing, and tying a good horse to a tree near An- 
derson's house, they told him that he must take that and 
be satisfied. They then hurried away, saying that they 
should not be seen in that region again. It was ascer- 
tained that the Klackamas Indians had nothing to do with 
the stolen horse; that it was a band r-f the Molalas, the 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 147 

very same rascals that stole a horse from me two years 
before, and after having him in their possession several 
weeks, brought him down within a few miles of my 
house, where they encamped, and where I went with 
one man and took him from the midst of more than fifty 
grim looking savages. 

On the 20th of April, a letter w^as received in the 
settlement, written by H. B. Brewer, at the Dalls, which 
brings the latest intelligence from the infected region. 
This letter states that the Indians in the interior talk 
much of war, and Mr. Brewer urges Dr. White to come 
up without delay, and endeavor to allay the excitement. 
He does not inform us that the Indians design any evil 
toward the whites, but says that the war is to be between 
themselves, but that the Boston people have much to 
fear. As the Doctor, in his visit to the interior last Oc- 
tober, left an appointment to meet the Walla- Walla 
Indians and the Kay uses, in their own country, on the 
tenth of May, and believing that a great share of the 
excitement originated in a misunderstanding of the In- 
dians, he came to the conclusion at all hazards to go 
among them. At the solicitation of the agent, I deter- 
mined to accompany him on the expedition. 
/The great complaint of the Indians was that the Bos- 
ton people designed to take away their lands, and reduce 
them to slavery. This they had inferred from what Dr. 
White had told them in his previous visit; and this mis- 
understanding of the Indians had not only produced a 
great excitement among them, but had occasioned con- 
siderable trouble betwixt them and the missionaries and 
other whites in the upper country, as well as influencing 
them to threaten the destruction of all the American 
people.,' Individuals had come down from fort Walla- 
Walla to Vancouver, bringing information of the excited 
state of things among the Indians, and giving out that it 
would be extremely dangerous for Dr. White to go up 
to meet his engagements. Their opinion was, that in all 
probability he and the party which he might think proper 
to take with him, would be cut off. But it was the 
opinion of many judicious persons in the settlement, that 



148 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

the welfare of the Indians, and the peace and security 
of the whites, demanded that some persons quaUfied to 
negotiate with the Indians, should proceed immediately 
to the scene of disaffection, and if possible remove the 
cause of the excitement by correcting the error under 
which the Indians labored. Accordingly, Dr. White 
engaged twelve men besides myself, mostly French Can- 
adians who had had much experience with Indians, to go 
with him; but a few days before the time fixed upon to 
start had arrived, they all sent him word that they had 
decided not to go. They were doubtless induced to 
pursue this course through the influence of Dr. Mc. 
Laughlin, and the Catholic priests. 

When the day arrived for starting, we found ourselves 
abandoned by every person who had engaged to go, 
except Mr. G. W. Le Breton, an American, one Indian 
boy, and one Kanaka. With the two latter the Doc- 
tor and myself left the Wallamette settlement on the 
twenty-fifth of April, 1843, and proceeded on horseback 
to the* Butte, where we found Le Breton in waiting for 
us. He had provided a canoe and a few pieces of pork 
and beef for our use on the vogage. 

Here we met a letter from Dr. John Mc Laughlin, at 
Vancouver, discouraging us from our undertaking in 
view of the dilhculties and dangers attending such an 
expedition; but we had counted the cost, and were not 
to be diverted from our purpose, though dangers stared 
us in the face. We supposed that if the Indians enter- 
tained any hostile intentions against the whites in gen- 
eral, there could be no better way to defeat their 
purposes than to go among them; convince them that 
they had no grounds of fear; and that the w^hites, instead 
of designing to bring them into subjection, were desirous 
of doing them good. Prevented by one thing and 
another from setting sail, on the night of the twenty- 
seventh we slept on a bank of sand at the Butte, and 
next day proceeded in our little canoe down to the Wal- 
lametie falls, where we continued until the twenty-ninth. 
Here we received another package from Dr. Mc Laugh- 
lin, giving us information that Rev. Mr. De Merce, a Ca- 



rotlR TO THE INTERIOR. 149 

tholic priest, had just, come down from the upper country, 
bringing intelHgence that the Indians are only incensed 
against the Boston people; that they have nothing against 
the French and King George people; they are not mad 
at them, but are determined that the Boston people shall 
not have their lands, and take aw^ay their liberties. On 
receiving this intelligence from Mr. De Merce, Dr. 
Mc Laughlin advised the Frenchman who had engaged 
to go with Dr. White, to have nothing to do with the 
quarrel, to remain quiet at home, and let the Americans 
take care of themselves. He alse expressed, in his let- 
ter, the opinion that all the people should remain quiet, 
and in all probability the excitement among the Indians 
would soon subside. 

Not seeing sufficient reason to change our course, on 
the morning of the 28th, we left our hospitable friends 
at the Falls, and continued our course down the Walla- 
mette towards Vancouver. At noon we had sailed 
twenty miles, and stopped for dinner within five miles of 
the mouth of the Wallamette, on a low piece of ground, 
overgrown with luxuriant grass, but which is always 
overflown at the rise of the Columbia, which is about 
the first of June. " Weighed anchor " after dinner, and 
at four o'clock, p. m., arrived at Vancouver. Called on 
Dr. Mc Laughlin for goods, provisions, powder, balls, 
&c., for our accommodation on our voyage up the Co- 
lumbia, and, though he was greatly surprised that, under 
the circumstances, we should think of going among those 
excited Indians, yet he ordered his clerks to let us have 
whatever we wanted. However, we found it rather 
squally at the fort, not so much on account of our going 
among the Indians of the interior, as in consequence of 
a certain memorial having been sent to the United States' 
Congress, imphcating the conduct of Dr. Mc Laughlin 
and the Hudson's Bay Company, and bearing the signa- 
tures of seventy Americans. I inquired of the Doctor 
if he had refused to grant supplies to those Americans 
who had signed that document; he replied that he had 
not, but that the authors of the memorial need expect no 
more favors from him. Not being one of the authors. 



150 TOUR TO THE LNTEUIOR. 

but merely a signer of the petition, I did not come under 
the ban of the company; consequently I obtained my 
outfit for the expedition, though at first there were 
strong indications that I would be refused. 

We remained at the fort over night and a part of the 
next day, and after a close conversation with the gentle- 
man in command, were treated with great courtesy. 

At two o'clock, p. M., of Saturday 29th, left, and con- 
tinued our voyage up the Columbia. As we proceeded 
from the fort, mount Hood appeared directly before us. 
Though this mountain is twenty-five miles from the 
river, and more than forty from Vancouver, yet it ap- 
peared to be not more than five or six miles distant. 
There are few things, perhaps, in the world, that com- 
bine more grandeur and subhmity in their appearance 
than this stupendous glacier viewed from the surface of 
the Columbia river. The Alleghany and Katskill moun- 
tains are but mounds when compared with this astonishing 
pile of Basalt, whose head is lifted to the amazing hight 
of sixteen thousand feet, and whitened with perpetual 
snow. We feasted our eyes upon this sublime spectacle 
until the sun had bidden us good night, and the shades of 
evening had thrown a dark mantle around the enchanting 
scenery; then mooring our canoe in a little eddy, we 
made our encampment for the Sabbath on a small island 
about ten miles above Vancouver, which is evidently 
laid under contribution by the Columbia every succeeding 
June, but which, at this time, was fifteen feet higher than 
the waters of the river. A canoe containing seven 
Indians, left the fort with us, and as we were short of 
help, one of the Indians engaged, for the consideration 
of a blanket and one shirt, to take the stern of our canoe, 
and assist us up to the Balls. These Indians belonged to 
the Wascopam tribe, and most of them profess to have 
been converted to Christianity through the labors of Rev. 
Daniel Lee, and Rev. H. K. W. Perkins. We all en- 
camped in the same place, and when the time for evening 
prayers arrived, the Indians all joined us with apparent 
sincerity and devotion, after which we committed our- 
selves to sleep on our blanket beds upon the ground. 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 151 

After a comfortable night's rest, we arose and enjoyed 
our humble repast, consisting of ham, bread, butter and 
tea. We prepared to spend the sacred day as profitably 
as we could, though in the lonely solitudes of a dense 
forest of Cottonwood, on the banks of the Columbia. 
We engaged in a season of reading the scriptures, sing- 
ing, and prayer, after which I endeavored to give our 
Neophytes a lesson concerning the things which belong 
to their peace. This done, I strolled along the banks of 
the river about one-fourth of a mile, for the purpose of 
being alone, and coming to a wild appletree which leaned 
its trunk over the smooth surface of the waters, I seated 
myself upon it, and a train of reflections, varying in 
their influence upon my feelings as they differed in cha- 
racter, passed through my mind. 

I thought of beloved parents from whom I had not 
heard for years; of the tears they shed when last I saw 
them, and received the parting benediction, and of the 
anxiety they must still feel, if alive, for their wandering 
son. I thought of all my former associates, of brothers 
and sisters, and early school mates, and christian friends, 
with whom I had taken sweet counsel, and walked to 
the house of God, and who, if they had not forgotten 
me, would ask, '^ Where is he 1 and what is his employ- 
ment 1" I thought of everything of interest in my 
native land; of bustling cities, with wheels rattling and 
hoofs clattering over their pavements; of smiling villages 
and towns, with their splendid turnpikes and McAdam- 
ized roads; of railroad cars and steamboats ; of temples 
erected to the God of heaven; the toll of chiming bells as 
they informed the waiting thousands that the time of wor- 
ship had arrived; of crowded assemblies listening to the 
messengers of Jesus; and of saints rejoicing, and altars 
thronged with mourning penitents. Continuing these 
reflections until my mind experienced a kind of abstrac- 
tion from the objects surrounding me, I fancied myself 
really amidst the scenes, the contemplation of which had 
produced this pleasing illusion, and starting up I found 
myself surrounded with the stillness of death, save the 
murmuring of the turbid waters of the Columbia that 



152 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR^ 

rolled beneath where I sat. Contrasting the land which 
had passed before my mental vision with that in which I 
felt myself a voluntary exile, I exclaimed, how changed 
the scene ! This, thought I, is truly a land of darkness. 
Amidst the solitudes of these forests and plains the gos- 
pel is never heard except perchance the missionary of 
the cross may be passing through the land, and then to 
but here and there a small group of wretched Indians, 
who are alternately shivering with ague, and burning 
with fever, upon the brink of death. I was led to 
inquire, when shall this state of things give way to civil- 
ization and Christianity 1 when shall " the sound of the 
church-going bell" be heard among these mountains and 
over these plains'? When shall the banks of this noble 
river be studded with cities and villages, with the tem- 
ples of Jehovah, whose steeples blazing in the sunlight, 
shall tell the traveler that God is worshiped here ? And 
I fancied this response came back to my inquiries: not 
until the present race shall have gone to the gra^ves of 
their fathers, and others shall rise to take their place. 

Returning to the camp we sat down upon the ground 
to a dinner which the Doctor's Kanaka, John, and my 
Indian boy, Sampson, had prepared for us. Towards 
evening the Doctor and myself walked leisurly into the 
thickest of the forest, towards the centre of the Island, 
and seating ourselves upon a log, talked of by-gone days, 
raised a song of praise to the Redeemer, and upon our 
knees offered up a tribute of thanksgiving for the past, 
and invoked the Divine blessing on our future course. 

Monday, May 1st. At sunrise pi'oceeded on our voy- 
age, and were much delighted with the magnificent 
scenery on the shores of the great Columbia. At eight 

o'clock passed the Prairie Du , which lies on the 

north side of the river. This is a low, wet prairie, with 
but little land which will admit of cultivation, but well 
adapted to grazing purposes. As we proceeded, the 
land next to the river became more uneven, the shores 
more rocky and abrupt, and at length we found ourselves 
crawling along at the base of a frowniing precipice of 
rocks, rising more than three hundred feet perpendicular 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 15S 

over our heads. A little farther on and huge masses 
of Basalt appeared thrown together in the wildest con- 
fusion, and these w^ould be succeeded by another frightful 
precipice, causing one involuntarily to cringe while look- 
ing upward towards its dizzy height. From the top, as 
if to add beauty to terror, came leaping down a Hmpid 
brook, which lost itself in spray, long before it reached 
the bottom ; and then again large fir-trees, stuck upon 
the top of the rock three or four hundred feet directly 
over our heads, and leaning their waving tops far over 
the rolling waters, would seem to look down upon us 
with the most threatening aspect. Conical formations 
of rocks from thirty to one hundred feet high appeared, 
peering up out of the water, resembling in form the 
huge hay-stacks of a Connecticut farmer. As we passed 
along at the base of these grand abutments of nature, 
swarms of swallows far above our heads, were delight- 
fully playing around the holes and crevices of the preci- 
pice, in which they had built their nests. 

At twelve o'clock, we passed a low point of land 
which has received the name of Cape Horn, in conse- 
quence of the difficulty of the navigation of this part of 
the river arising from the strength of wind which gene- 
rally prevails here. Often, when it is safe running on 
all other parts of the river, canoes, on arriving here, 
are obliged to lie by, sometimes for days, before they 
can possibly pass this point. Indeed, the Cape Horn of 
the Columbia is more difficult to double with the pigmy 
craft which is used on this river, than the stormy cape 
bearing the same name at the southern extremity of 
Terra del Fuego. 

A few miles above Cape Horn, we came to a huge 
rock, which is justly considered a great curiosity. The 
mountains at this place retire about one half mile from 
the river, and this rock is situated midway between the 
river and the mountain. In form it is nearly round ; is 
about twenty-five rods in diameter at its base, and rises 
perpendicularly on all sides to the height of at least one 
hundred and fifty feet. It then assumes a conical form, 
and gradually diminishes in size till it rises some two 
7 



164 TOUR TO TH£ INTERIOR. 

hundred feet morej and then presents to the heavens a 
broken surface of several rods in diameter, beautifully 
ornamented with a luxuriant growth of variegated ever- 
greens. Passing this stupendous monument reared by 
nature's hands in mockery of the works of art, we 
arrived at the cascades at sundown, and camped for the 
night, after having run a hair-breadth risk of losing our 
canoe and all our baggage, at one of the violent rapids 
below the cascades. Our men, consisting of two Indians 
and one Kanaka, were cordelling our canoe up the rapid; 
and coming round a point of rocks, it took a sheer out 
into the strongest part of the current, and began directly 
to fill with water. My Indian boy, Sampson, was the 
only one that had hold of the rope, and such was the 
strength of the current against the canoe, that he could 
not hold on to the rope with his hands ; and being about 
to be pulled from the rocks into the river, he grasped 
the rope between his teeth, and faUing down upon the 
rocks, held fast to them with his hands, and in that man- 
ner succeeded in bringing the canoe back to the shore, 
with no other damage being done, than the wetting of 
our provisions and bedding. 

When we retired to rest, wrapped in our wet blankets, 
we were reminded of a little incident in the experience 
of Mr. Townsend, a naturalist, who traveled down this 
river several years before. It had rained severely all 
day, and every article he had, bedding, wardrobe, pro- 
visions and all, were thoroughly drenched. He rolled 
himself in his wet blankets and lay down to sleep, think- 
ing of the last words of his dying grandmother, " Be 
careful and never sleep in damp sheets." 

Tuesday, 2d. From the effects of the wind upon the 
the water and the sand, filling the air with the latter as 
snow in a February storm in Western New York, and 
raising the former into high waves, we were obliged to 
lie quiet in our camp. Occasionally, however, we ven- 
tured out to the shore of the Columbia, contemplating 
her majesty, as she pours her exhaustless flood down 
the ledge of rocks which forms the beautiful cascades. 
The river here falls in continued rapids for three miles, 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 155 

not less than fifty feet. That portion of the rapids 
properly called the cascades, presents an appearance of 
grandeur and sublimity not inferior to that of the rapids 
of the Niagara river, above the great cataract. At this 
place the Columbia rushes through the cascade range of 
mountains, and the channel through which it pours its 
mighty torrent, appears not more than thirty rods wide, 
while each shore presents indubitable evidence that, by 
a vast accumulation of water above, these mountain 
barriers were torn assunder, and thus this mighty river 
found its way to the Pacific ocean. The Indians here 
have a tradition that, a long time ago, the mountain was 
joined together over the river, and that the river per- 
formed a subterraneous passage for some distance, with 
a slow current, and that their people used to pass up 
and down with their canoes without difficulty ; but all 
at once the foundations of this mighty arch crumbled 
beneath their ponderous weight, and the whole mass 
came tumbling into the river, filling up the channel and 
quite damming up the stream, and thus were formed the 
beautiful cascades. The probabifity is that this tradition 
is true only in part. Doubtless the time was when there 
were no cascades here, and they were probably formed 
by the mountain's sHding into the river in tremendous 
avalanches, and thus filling up the channel. The land 
on each side of the river at this place is rough and 
sterile, and the scenery wild beyond description. The 
cascades are fifty miles above Vancouver, and one hun- 
dred and forty-five from the mouth of the Columbia. 

At three, p. m., the wind lulling, we proceeded up ten 
miles and camped for the night, which was exceedingly 
windy, with some rain. Found the river wide above 
the cascades, with little current, and, from appearances, 
were convinced that the Indian tradition concerning the 
falling in of the mountain, is not without foundation. 
The original channel appears to have been very narrow, 
compared with the present width of the river. Forests 
which were situated on its former banks, have been 
overflown, and a vast number of stumps and trees which 
have not yet wasted away, stand in the present bed of 
the stream 



156 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

Wednesday, 3d. Continued our voyage, but at noon 
were obliged to lay by in consequence of the rise of the 
wind. 

Anxious to make headway, we continued out after 
the wind had increased to a strong gale. We passed 
a number of dangerous points, where the shore was pre- 
cipitous and ^' iron bound ;" but the wind being directly 
astern, and having a blanket rigged for a sail, we darted 
past them like an arrow, though the waves ran so high 
that they threatened every moment to engulph us. In 
passing the last point before we came to shore, we run 
a very great hazard of losing our canoe and baggage, 
if not our Hves. A canoe much larger than ours, with 
five Indians, had just passed the point, and barely es- 
caped. Running their canoe into a little bay just above, 
they hurried back along the shore, and arrived at the 
point just as we did, expecting to see our little canoe 
driven against the shelving rocks, by the violence of the 
winds and waves, and dashed to pieces. But with ama- 
zing swiftness, and in fearful proximity, we shot by the 
dangerous point, realizing no other damage than a wet- 
ting, and a fright. As for myself, when we were tossed 
in our feather-like craft over these Atlantic waves, and 
driven with such violence so near the frowning rocks 
that I could touch them with my hand as we were 
shooting by, and my heart beating so violently that it 
sounded Hke the grunting of a black grouse in the top 
of a fir-tree, I thought I had much rather be on terra 
firma; so, mooring our canoe in a little cove, we waited 
for the wind to fall. Resuming our voyage towards 
evening, we ran a few miles, and camped for the night. 

Thursday, 4th. Arrived at the Dalls, and found our 
friends well and prospering. Here reside Rev. Daniel 
Lee, one of the pioneer missionaries to Oregon, Rev. 
H. K. W. Perkins, and Mr. H. B. Brewer. They are 
laboring to establish a permanent mission at this place 
for the benefit of the Indians, but with doubtful success. 

The country around is much better than I expected 
to find. In the vicinity of the mission the land is ex- 
ceedingly fertile, and the scenery is most delightful. 

Soon after we arrived, about twenty Indians came to 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 157 

the house of Mr. Brewer, where we stopped, to have a 
talk with Dr. White. When he was up the winter be- 
fore, he prevailed on these Indians to organize themselves 
into a kind of government. One high chief, and three 
subordinates were elected ; laws were enacted, and the 
penalties annexed were whippings more or less severe, 
according to the nature of the crime. The chiefs had 
found much difficulty in enforcing the laws. In punishing 
delinquents some of the Indians resisting, even to the 
point of the knife. 

The chiefs, who were appointed through the influence 
of Dr. White, were desirous that these regulations should 
continue, evidently because they placed the people under 
their absolute control, and gave them the power to regu- 
late all their intercourse with the whites, and with the 
other Indian tribes. But the other influential men who 
were not in office, desired to know of Dr. White, of 
what benefit this whipping system was going to be to 
them. They said they were veiling it should continue, 
provided they were to receive blankets, shirts and pants, 
as a reward for being whipped. They had been whipped 
a good many times, and had got nothing for it, and it 
had done them no good. If this state of things was 
to continue, it was all (cultus) good for nothing, and 
they would throw it all away. In reply they were told 
by the Doctor that we could not be detained to settle 
any of their difficulties now ; that we were going far- 
ther into the interior, and were in a very great hurry ; 
and that when we returned he would endeavor to make 
all straight. But he wished them to understand that 
they need not expect pay for being flogged, when they 
deserved it. They laughed heartily at the idea, and 
dispersed, giving us an opportunity to make arrangements 
for the continuance of our journey. 

We left our canoe at the Dalls in the care of an In- 
dian, and engaged eight horses of an old Indian, by the 
name of Canasissa, who was to bring them to us the 
following morning. 

Friday, 5th. Canasissa arrived early in the morning, 
and coming to us with a very long face, inquired what 



158 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

we were going to give him to accompany us, as he 
wished to see that the horses were well used. The 
Doctor replied, " You are a very old man ; the journey 
is long, and the Indians are very silex, (angry); you may 
get into difficulty ; you had better stay at home." Still 
Canasissa insisted on going, but was told that if he went 
he must go for nothing. He then said that he had 
brought but seven horses, and thought that we did not 
give only enough to pay for the seven, but he should 
have brought the eighth if he could have found it. He 
was told that we must have the eighth. " Yes," said 
Canasissa, ^'You may have the eighth, if you will give 
me one blanket more in addition to what you were to 
give me." But we peremptorily refused to take any 
without the whole, according to agreement ; and went 
about negotiating with another Indian to supply us with 
horses. When Canasissa saw that we were about to 
succeed with the other one, he altered his tone, and 
came up to us saying that it was very good for us not 
to pay another blanket ; that he would bring the other 
horse, and would go with us himself. Taking him at 
his offer, we made arrangements also with Rev. H. K. 
W. Perkins to accompany us. 

Horses ready, saddles all on, and bridles, consisting 
of hide-rope, tied to the horse's lower jaw, with our 
baggage, provisions, &c., packed on the backs of two 
of the horses, we mounted, and left the mission at eleven 
o'clock. Four miles brought us to the great Dalls, and 
here Canasissa brought us the eighth horse, and acknow- 
ledged that the object he had in view in not bringing 
it to us in the first place, was to extort from us an 
additional blanket, a trick quite characteristic of these 
Indians, who seem instinctively to embrace every oppor- 
tunity that presents itself, to overreach those who, in 
any measure, are dependent upon them. I was pecu- 
liarly struck, while we were negotiating with them, with 
their astonishing tact in cheating. As a matter of 
course, lying has much to do in their system of trade, 
and he is the best fellow who can tell the biggest lie, 
make men believe it, and practice the greatest deception. 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 159 

A few years ago a great religious excitement prevailed 
among these Indians, and nearly the whole tribe, con- 
sisting of upwards of a thousand, professed to be con- 
verted, were baptized, and received into the christian 
church ; but they have nearly all relapsed into their 
former state, with the exception that many of them still 
keep up the outward forms of religion. Their religion 
appears to be more of the head than of the heart, and 
though they are exceedingly vicious, yet doubtless they 
would be much worse than they are but for the restrain- 
ing influences exerted upon them by the missionaries. 

They are known by the name of the Wasco Indians, 
and they call their country round the Dalls, Wascopam. 
They claim the country extending from the cascades up 
to the falls of the Columbia, the distance of about fifty 
miles. " La Dallas," or the narrows, as the word signi- 
fies in EngHsh, are somewhat remarkable. Here the 
Columbia suddenly contracts into a very narrow channel, 
and then rushes through a mighty gorge or chasm in the 
rocks, with fearful violence, in its passage tumbling and 
boiling and roaring, and ever and anon forming the most 
tremendous whirlpools. Yet the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany's boats are frequently made to run these frightful 
narrows, and it is not uncommon for them to pay for 
their rashness with the loss of a boat, and a sacrifice of 
a number of their men. 

Just below the Dalls, where the current continues to 
be strong, is a little island, used by the Indians as a place 
of deposit for the dead. There is something peculiar in 
their manner of sepulture. The dead are taken to a small 
house, built on this island for the purpose, and laid in a 
pile around the inside of the house, the head next to the 
wall, and the feet towards the center of the building. 
Here hundreds have been deposited, forming a pile 
several feet high. 

The country around the Dalls is valuable, in conse- 
quence of its adaptation to grazing and farming purposes, 
and the extensive salmon fishery which might here be 
established. These Indians, with most of the tribes of 
Oregon, are destined to utter extinction, and the time is 



160 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

not far distant when their country will be occupied by 
the descendants of the Pilgrims. 

At two o'clock, we left the Dalls^ and seven miles 
brought us to the shoots, or falls of the Columbia, which 
at this stage of the water, are about ten feet perpendic- 
ular, but in June, when the river is high, the water sets 
back from the Dalls so that there are no falls to be seen. 

Arrived at the river '' De Shoots " at five^ p. m., ten 
miles above the Dalls, and three above the falls of the 
Columbia. This river rises among the mountains which 
divide the Wallamette and the Walla- Walla countries, 
called the Cascade Range, and taking a north-easterly 
course and watering a fertile valley, it forms a number 
of beautiful cataracts and cascades. It falls into the 
Columbia one hundred and ninety miles from its mouth. 
Probably it derives its name from the fact that it pos- 
sesses numerous falls, and finally rushes down a ledge of 
rocks into the Columbia with great violence. We found 
it very difficult to cross ; but with the help of a few 
Walla-Walla Indians whom we found here, and a couple 
of scoop-shovel canoes, we succeeded in crossing without 
accident, though, to the inexperienced, it would have 
been considered an enterprise of great peril. But the 
crossing was not so difficult as it was to satisfy the Indians 
who assisted us. They wanted all we had, even the 
clothes on our backs; but we paid them what we pleased, 
and repacking our animals, continued on five miles farther, 
camping for the night beside a small rivulet and under 
the lee of a sanddrift thirty feet high. Sometimes, in 
the valley of the Columbia, the wind is so strong that 
the sand is driven about like snow, the air is full of it, 
and woe be to the eyes that are compelled to meet the 
beating storm. 

May 6th. Journeyed on, and at eleven, a. m., came 
to a stream of water which has received the name of 
John Day's river. It is about twenty rods wide at its 
mouth, too deep to ford, but easily crossed by swiming, 
in consequence of its having but little current. It derived 
its cognomen from a remarkable circumstance in the 
historv of the gentleman whose name it bears. 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 161 

John Day was a native of Kentucky, and though a 
man of some fortune, and considerable talents, and might 
have lived in affluence and ease in his native country, 
yet, from choice, he abandoned all the endearments of 
civilized hfe, and became a rambler in the savage wilds 
of the Rocky mountains and Oregon. When Wilson 
Price Hunt performed his astonishing journey from Mis- 
souri to the mouth of the Columbia river, John Day was 
one of his most faithful and persevering companions, and 
suffered with him the most surprising hardships. Excel- 
ling in the qualifications of a hunter, and faithful to the 
trusts committed to him, responsibihties were thrown 
upon him during that perilous journey which proved more 
than he was able to bear. At Astoria he was appointed 
to accompany Robert Stewart back to Missouri, on busi- 
ness of importance, but had not proceeded far up the 
Columbia before he became restless and uneasy, and 
finally gave evident signs of insanity. On the evening 
of the second of July, 1813, he attempted to destroy 
himself, but being disarmed, he sank into quiet and pro- 
fessed remorse. He pretended to sleep, but just before 
daylight he sprang up, siezed a pair of loaded pistols, 
and endeavored to blow out his own brains, but he held 
the pistols too high, and the balls passed over his head. 
He was then secured so that he could not harm him- 
self, and sent back to Astoria. This event happened 
in the vicinity of this river. He was taken back from 
this point in hopes that he might recover, but his consti- 
tution was entirely broken; he lingered for a number of 
months, and died, evidently from the effects of the hard- 
ships he had endured. 

Dined on the bank of this river, and conversed on the 
perilous adventures of the mountaineers; then resumed 
our wearisome journey, but found little to interest us, or 
to break the monotony of the scenery along the Colum- 
bia. In the afternoon, however, w^e were entertained 
with the appearance of a flock of sandhill cranes, num- 
bering, at least, two thousand, which passed directly 
over our heads, on their passage to the mouth. Two 
large rattlesnakes placed themselves in our path ; we 
7* 



IQ^ TOUR TO THE IiNTERIOR. 

examined them for a moment, and then '' bruised then 
heads." A few small trees also, the like of which I hav<^ 
never seen in any country, were objects of curiosity 
We passed a few score of Indians during the day, bu 
they manifested no signs of hostility, and at night en 
camped for the Sabbath about midway between the Dalls 
and fort Walla- Walla. 

Sabbath, May 7th, was an exceedingly windy day, and 
we found it much more pleasant to continue in camp, 
than it would have been to travel. Indeed, I have sel- 
dom looked for the day of rest more anxiously than I 
did the last part of the week past. Though we made 
only about one hundred and fifty miles during the week, 
yet, from the constant labor resulting from our mode of 
traveling, we had become exceedingly fatigued, and the 
day in which we are to perform no servile work, was 
most thankfully welcomed. Though we were doomed 
to spend it far from the abodes of civilized man, yet it 
brought with it the most delightful associations. It 
reminded me not only of the completion of the work of 
creation, when the morning stars sang together, and all 
the sons of God shouted for joy, but my mind was car- 
ried back to him, who, '' though he was rich, yet for our 
sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might 
be made rich." I saw him in my contemplations amidst 
all the scenes of labor and suffering through which he 
was called to pass. The garden of Gethsemene, the 
judgment hall, the bloody summit of Calvary, and the 
crimsoned cross, passed in review before me. I heard 
the Saviour of men, while his blood was pouring forth as 
from a high and lofty altar to satisfy the demands of 
offended justice, when he looked around upon his mur- 
derers and cried out, "It is finished." It was not fancy; 
faith brought the Saviour near, and looked upon him when 
he bowed his head upon his breast and gave up the ghost. 
From the summit of the blood-stained mountains, I fol- 
lowed him to the sepulchre, and here I saw my Saviour 
under the dominion of the grave, a captive to the king 
of terrors. But the third morning drew near, and the 
sun that sat in blood, arose in glory. The crucified Re- 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 163 

deemer, triumphant over death, and leading captivity- 
captive, received gifts for men, 

" He rises who mankind has bought. 
With sweat and blood extreme, 
'Twas great to speak a world from nought, 
'Twas greater to redeem." 

Monday, 8th, Arose invigorated in body and mind, 
and invoking the Divine blessing upon us in our future 
trials, packed our animals and w^ound our way along up 
the numerous turns of the Columbia. The trail runs in 
the deep valley of the river along the shore; this makes 
the route quite uninteresting. The prospect is entirely 
broken off by the tremendous walls of Basalt, which 
tower from four to seven hundred feet on both sides of 
the river. When this wall approached the river so as 
not to admit of the trail passing between it and the 
water, we were obliged to climb this stupendous ledge, 
traveling for awhile upon its top, then clambering down 
among the rocks till we regained the lower valley. 
While doing this we sometimes take alarm from the 
fearful crash of a detached mass of Basalt as it came 
leaping down from the summit of the precipice. This 
climbing, however, gave us an opportunity of seeing 
what the country is a little distance from the river. 
Nothing can exceed the barrenness of the land. Though 
the face of the country for a considerable distance from 
the river on each side, is agreeably diversified with hills 
and valleys, yet, as far as the eye can reach to the right 
and left, it is one continued desert of sand, gravel, and 
rocks. It is said that farther away from the river than 
we could see, the land is more fertile, and the grass 
abundant. 

Having traveled thirty-six miles over this desert 
region, we stopped for the night on the banks of a beau- 
tiful stream called the Utilla. Here we found fifteen or 
twenty of the Walla- Walla Indians, exceedingly squallid 
in their appearance, and living on the fish they caught 
in the stream. These fish are a species of the salmon, 
and we succeeded in getting enough for our supper and 



164 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

breakfast. The land on this river is more fertile, and 
grows better as you go up the stream. 

Next morning, at the rising of the sun, we left our 
attendants with the pack animals, and proceeded on 
ahead, determined, if possible, to reach the mission sta- 
tion at Waialetpu, on the Walla- Walla river, the same 
day. Passed Fort Walla- Walla at twelve, and arrived 
at Dr. Whitman's at five, having traveled fifty miles 
since we mounted in the morning. We were received 
with great cordiality by Mrs. Whitman and Mr. Giger, 
Dr. Whitman being absent on a tour to the United 
States. They had heard we were coming, and were 
looking for us with great anxiety. We soon learned 
that the reports in the lower country about war, that 
had produced such an excitement, were not without 
foundation : the Kayuse Indians, among whom this 
mission is established, had freely communicated to Mr. 
Giger, whom they esteemed as their friend, all they 
knew concerning it. 

When the Indians were first told that the Americans 
were designing to subjugate them, and take away their 
lands, the young chiefs of the Kayuse tribe were in 
favor of proceeding immediately to hostilities. They 
were for raising a large war party, and, rushing directly 
down to the Wallamette settlement, cut off the inhabit- 
ants at a blow. The old chiefs were of a different 
opinion ; they suggested more cautious measures. Ta- 
king into consideration the difficulty, at that season of 
the year, of marching a large party the distance of 
three or four hundred miles through a wide range of 
mountains, covered with snow, they advised all the 
Indians to wait until they should obtain more information 
concerning the designs of the Americans. They also 
thought that it would not be wisdom in them, in any 
case, to commence an offensive war, but to prepare 
themselves for a vigorous defence against any attack. 
They frequently remarked to Mr. Giger, that they did 
not wish to go to war, but if the Americans came to 
take away their lands, and bring them into a state of 
vassalage, they would fight so long as they had a drop 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 165 

of blood to shed. They said they had received their 
information concerning the designs of the Americans 
from Baptiste Dorio. This individual, vs^ho is a half- 
breed, son of Madame Dorio, the heroine of Washington 
Irving's Astoria, understands the Nez Perce langauge 
M^ell, and had given the Kayuses the information that had 
alarmed them. Mr. Giger endeavored to induce them 
to prepare, early in the spring, to cultivate the ground 
as they did the year before, but they refused to do any- 
thing, saying that Baptiste Dorio had told them that it 
vi^ould be of no consequence ; that the whites would 
come in the summer, and kill them all off, and destroy 
their plantations. 

After Dorio had told them this story, they sent a 
Walla- Walla chief, called Yellow Serpent, to Vancouver, 
to learn from Doctor McLaughlin the facts in the case. 
Yellow Serpent returned and told the Kayuses that Dr. 
McLaughlin said he had nothing to do in a war with the 
Indians ; that he did not believe the Americans designed 
to attack them, and that, if the Americans did go to 
war with the Indians, the Hudson's Bay Company would 
not assist them. After they got this information from 
the hias (great) Doctor, the Indians became more calm ; 
many of them went to cultivating the ground as for- 
merly, and a large number of little patches had been 
planted and sown, before we arrived at the station. 

The Kayuses were principally encamped along the 
base of the Blue mountains, a few miles east of Dr. 
Whitman's house ; and after we had obtained all the 
information we could from Mrs. Whitman and Mr. Gi- 
ger, concerning the state of things among them, we 
sent them word that we had come, and desired to see 
them. We also sent the chiefs word that we desired 
them to make arrangements to have all their people 
meet us at the mission on the following Friday, to hav^ 
a talk. 

The chiefs came to see us at Dr. Whitman's, and told 
the story of their grievances, and said that they desired 
to have the difficulty settled. They said it would not 
be convenient for the people to come together so soon 



166 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

as we desired, as many of them were off among the 
mountains, hunting elk. As they must be informed of 
the meeting, it would be several days before the people 
could get together. We ascertained, however, that this 
was a mere pretence. They had been informed that 
Ellis, the Nez Perce chief, was coming down to meet us 
on their ground, and this had determined them not to 
have any meeting until EUis should arrive. But as we 
had learned that Ellis was coming with his warriors, 
consisting of several hundred — for what purpose we 
could not ascertain, some saying to make war upon the 
Kay uses — we came to the conclusion that the meeting 
of the two tribes should, if possible, be prevented. 

While considering this subject, we were solicited by 
the chiefs to take a ride among the Indian plantations. 
Accordingly, a party was made out which would have 
made all the sacerdotal order laugh to contemplate. 
The captain of the party was a Kayuse chief, by the 
name of Feathercap : and of all the Indians I have seen 
he has a countenance the most savage. But, with this, 
there is a dignity and decision manifested in his move- 
ments, which might put many a white man to the blush. 
He is about five feet ten inches high ; has a voice of the 
stentorian order, and possesses all the native character- 
istics of an orator. 

His dress was quite fantastical, being composed of 
skin breeches, a striped shirt, which he wore over his 
breeches, and a scarlet coat, gilted off very much in the 
fashion of the regimentals of a British general. His 
head-dress was composed, first of a cotton handkerchief 
thrown loosely over his head, then a cap made of otter 
skin over the handkerchief, and on the top of the cap, 
fastened with savage taste, the long hair of a white 
horse's tail, which hung in ringlets down the backside 
of his neck. Thus rigged, he was prepared to guide us 
on our tour of pleasure. An Indian woman and her 
daughter joined our party, of whom mention has been 
made in another part of this narrative. The old woman 
lived many years with Thomas McKay, but he finally 
cast her off, and she is now the wife of an old half-breed 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 167 

Iroquois, by the name of Jo-Gray. Her daughter is the 
wife of Charles Roe. They both live in the lower 
country, but w^ere up on a visit to their relatives among 
the Indians. Their dresses were an imitation of the 
Boston fashions, but were much defiled by the smoke, 
dirt, and grease of wigwams. They were both astride 
their horses, the younger carrying her little son before 
her. 

There were also three other Indians, without note- 
worthy peculiarities. Mr. Giger, who is a small man, 
mounted a donkey which was about the size of a New- 
foundland dog, and exceedingly antic, just having re- 
cruited from a journey across the Rocky mountains. In 
addition to these, Mrs. Whitman, Dr. White and myself 
made up the party. Feathercap led us about one mile, 
across a low piece of fertile ground, when we arrived at 
the nearest plantations. We ascertained that about 
sixty of the Kayuses had commenced cultivating the 
ground. They each have fenced around a small piece 
of ground, from one-fourth of an acre, to three acres, 
and each one is entitled only to what he raises himself. 
They had in the ground wheat, corn, peas and potatoes. 
Many of the places were well fenced and well cultivated, 
and the crops looked flourishing. The Indians appeared 
highly pleased that we went out to see their farms, and 
told us they were very glad that they had been learned 
to till the ground. They have already learned that theii 
livelihood, which previously was very precarious, by 
their little farms, is fully secured to them. This, they 
say, makes their hearts glad. 

Our motley party proceeded in high glee, alternately 
conversing in the EngHsh, Chenook, and Walla- Walla 
languages, and remarking upon whatever presented itself 
before us. The little man on the Mas tenas (very little) 
mule, was the subject of much amusement with the 
Indians ; and in the novelty and excitement of our little 
excursion, the subject of war and blood was entirely 
forgotten. We passed pleasantly along, now crossing 
a beautiful plain, blooming with flowers, which sent 
forth their rich odors upon the breeze ; now penetrating 



168 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

the small thickets of servill, chokecherry, thorn and 
rose bushes ; and now fording little brooks of pure, 
limpid water, which came leaping down from the blue 
mountains, until we had traveled the distance of eight 
miles in a circuitous route. We then found ourselves 
very unexpectedly back to the point whence we started, 
all prepared for a consultation concerning the Indian 
war. 

As there was a large party of the Kayuses and Walla- 
Walla Indians encamped on the head waters of the 
Utilla, about fifty miles from Dr. Whitman's, embracing 
some of the principal chiefs, Mr. Perkins was desired to 
go out, and invite them to come in so as to be at the 
meeting, subsequently to be held at the mission station. 
Not knowing the way, he procured an Indian guide, and 
started off with no other person to accompany him. 
Travehng through a beautiful country, well adapted to 
pastoral pursuits, towards evening he arrived at the 
Utilla, where he expected to find the Indians, but they 
had removed to another place about twenty miles farther 
off. Inasmuch as he had no provision, and no means of 
kindling a fire, and there being no signs of Indian habit- 
ations in the vicinity, he resolved to proceed to camp, 
though in doing so, he was obliged to cross the stream. 
He asked the guide where the crossing place was, and 
was told that it was just before him. He tried to get 
the Indian to go in first and see how deep the water 
was, but the Indian refused, saying he was afraid. Mr. 
Perkins then rode his horse in, but soon found the water 
so deep that the horse was obliged to swim. But now 
it was as easy to go ahead as to turn about, and urging 
his horse a little, he was borne through the rapid stream 
in safety, to the opposite shore. 

His guide, frightened at the idea of passing the stream 
in the same manner, could not be induced to follow, and 
making an excuse that he did not know the way, deserted 
him, and went back. Luckily, however, Mr. Perkins 
discovered an Indian not far distant, driving some horses, 
and of him he learned where he should find the trail that 
kcd to the Indian camp. He pushed on at full speed, and 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 169 

arrived there just after dark, having rode since ten o'clock 
in the morning, the distance of seventy miles. Here he 
found three chiefs by the name of Tauitau, Yellow Ser- 
pent, and Five Crows, The last has recently professed 
conversion to the protestant religion, and the first has 
become a Catholic. Yellow Serpent is favorable to the 
Protestant missions, but does not give as good evidence 
of conversion as Five Crows. Yellow Serpent is the 
principal chief of the Walla- Walla tribe, the other two 
are brothers, and chiefs of the Kayuse. 

The son of Yellow Serpent was also with him. He 
has spent a number of years in the Methodist mission 
school, on the Wallamette river, where he received the 
name of Elijah Heading, and where he acquired some 
knowledge of the English language, and professed con- 
version to Christianity. Mr. Perkins put up for the night 
at Yellow Serpent's lodge. Supper was served of dried 
salmon, after which prayer was proposed by Elijah. 
They sang a hymn, and Mr. Perkins led in prayer, and 
was followed by Elijah, who, after he had concluded, 
requested his father to pray. This ended, they sung 
another hymn, and prepared to sleep. Mr. Perkins 
having wet his blankets in swimming the river, had none 
to sleep in, but Yellow Serpent, taking his own blanket 
from his shoulders, gave it to him, saying that he had no 
blankets, but would make him as comfortable as he could. 
Wrapped in the Indian's blanket, he composed himself to 
sleep. 

The next morning, quite early, he called at Tauitau's 
lodge, and was informed, on entering, that they had not 
yet had their morning prayers. The chief caused a bell 
to be rung, at the sQund of which all his band came 
together for devotion. Tauitau then said to Mr. Perkins, 
" We are Catholics, and our worship is different from 
yours." He then fell upon his knees, all the rest kneeling 
and facing him. The chief had a long string of beads 
on his neck, to which was attached a brass cross. After 
all were knelt, they devoutly crossed themselves, and 
commenced their prayers as follows: " We are poor, we 
are poor," repeating it ten times, and then closing with, 



170 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

"Good Father, good Son, good Spirit," and then the 
chief would sHp a bead on the string. This was contin- 
ued until all the beads were removed from one part of 
the string to the other. When their devotions closed, 
Tauitau said, '' This is the way in which the priest taught 
us to worship God," but Elijah said that " Tauitau and 
his band prayed from the head, but we pray from the 
heart. Bidding them good morning, Mr. Perkins moun- 
ted his horse, and at evening arrived in safety at the 
mission. 

Friday, 12th. As the Indians refused to come together 
unless Ellis and his men came down to meet them, we 
informed them that we should go up and see Elhs in his 
own country, but being suspicious that we intended to 
prevent his coming down, they were much opposed to 
our going. Explaining to the chiefs the object of our 
visit, they seemed to be satisfied, and we went about 
preparing for the continuance of our journey. 

At five, p. M., all were ready, and we started off on 
a round gallop in a northeasterly direction, and the sun 
went down beneath the waters of the Pacific. The 
light of the moon enabled us to keep along the winding 
trail as it led us over a beautifully undulating country, 
till eleven o'clock at night, when we camped on a small 
rivulet called the Toosha, forty-five miles from where 
we started. Next morning at sunrise proceeded. At 
noon encamped on another little stream, having traveled 
thirty-five miles. Rested for an hour, and continued our 
course through an exceedingly romantic country. At 
five, p. M., arrived at the Snake or Lewis river, where a 
portion of the Nez. Perse tribe reside, headed by one 
whom they call " Red Wolf" 

The village is situated on a small inchned plain, quite 
fertile, but the country round about is very rocky and 
mountainous. The valleys, however, afford abundant 
grass to supply the numerous horses owned by the 
Indians. Red Wolf, in more than one instance, has 
prov^ed himself a friend to the Americans. When Capt. 
Bonneville was in this country, many years ago, in his 
trade with the Indians, he met with violent opposition 



TOUR TO THd INTERIOR, 171 

from the Hudson's Bay Company, and was compelled 
to leave that portion under the control of the company. 
But, in his attempt to do, he lost his way, and wandered 
about until he and his men were reduced to a starving 
state. Fortunately, he struck a trail that led him to the 
lodge of Red Woff, and he immediately told the chief 
of his great distress. Red Wolf was moved by the 
story, and ordered a horse to be butchered without 
delay. Bonneville and his men feasted themselves to 
their entire satisfaction; and when they were ready to 
leave, they were supplied with a guide, and provision 
for their journey. 

From Dr. Whitman's to Red Wolf's place it is one 
hundred miles; and having traveled it in one day, our 
horses were leg weary. Consequently, we turned them 
loose among the hills to remain till we returned, and 
obtained fresh ones of Red Wolf, for the prosecution 
of our journey. It was twenty-five miles from Red 
W^olf's to the mission station among the Nez Perces, 
under the care of Rev. Mr. Spaulding and the sun was 
two hours high; the trail was difficult in some places, 
but the horses were as light-footed as antelopes. Red 
Wolf had volunteered to accompany us, and crossing 
the river, swimming our horses in the rear of our canoe, 
we each one mounted the animal designated by the chief, 
and himself taking the lead, we measured off the ground 
with wonderful rapidity. We passed a number of small 
villages, and found the vaUies which were fertile, aston- 
ishingly filled with horses. From one eminence could 
be seen not less than one thousand. But Red Wolf led 
us on with such astonishing swiftness that we had 
scarcely time to cast a glance at the Indians, horses, 
rivers, mountains, &c., by which the scenery of our 
route was diversified, and which we left one after another 
in quick succession far in the rear. Just as the sun was 
setting we brought up on Clear Water River, on the side 
opposite the house of Rev. Mr. Spaulding. We had 
traveled twenty-five miles in two hours, and sixty miles 
since we dined at twelve o'clock. Hailing across the 
river, Mr. Spaulding came over in a small canoe, and 



172 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

took us and our baggage over, and, with his wife, and 
Mr. and Mrs. Littlejohn, gave us a most cordial and 
hearty welcome to their isolated home. 

Sunday, 14th. Some two hundred Indians, of all ages, 
met in the rear of Mr. Spaulding's house for religious 
worship. They behaved with great propriety, and some 
of them gave good evidence of genuine conversion. Mr. 
Spaulding had received three of them into church fellow- 
ship, two of them chiefs, by the name of Joseph and 
Timothy; and thirty others stood propounded for mem- 
bership. According to arrangement, these were to be 
received on the Sabbath after our arrival. Being exam- 
ined according to the order of the Presbyterian church, 
and giving satisfaction as to their religious experience, 
they and their children received baptism, and they be- 
came members of Christ's visible church. 

In the evening it fell to my lot to preach to the few 
Americans who providentially had been thus thrown 
together. This is evidently the most promising Indian 
mission in Oregon. 

Monday, 15th. CHmbed to the top of a mountain, 
twenty-two hundred feet high, which overlooks the valley 
of Sapwai, and enables one to trace the windings of 
Clear Water, for several miles. We started a number 
of large rocks down the precipitous sides of the moun- 
tain towards the river, but on descending found that our 
sport was not gratuitous. Some Indians had just come 
up the trail on horseback, and a fragment of one of the 
rocks had struck a horse's leg and broken it. But the horse 
being not very valuable, the matter was easily adjusted. 

When we arrived, Ellis, with some hundreds of his 
people, was fifty or sixty miles off, and a letter was sent 
to him to come down and meet us. 

Tuesday, 16th. Joseph, who is second to Ellis in the 
chieftainship, made a martial display of his band, in a 
Httle plain in the rear of the house, where he entertained 
us with a sham fight. We estimated the number under 
Joseph at seven hundred. Arrayed in their war dress, 
they made a very savage, not to say imposing, appear- 
ance. 



TOUR lO THE INTERIOR. 173 

Wednesday, 17th. Joseph called out his band and 
awaited the arrival of ElHs. We were requested to 
take our places in the front ranks of Joseph's band, in 
the centre, and soon appeared, coming over the moun- 
tain, behind which had been waiting, a cloud of Indians, 
that spread itself over its sides. The mountain seemed 
aUve, as hundreds of Indians came moving towards the 
valley. They were all mounted on their best horses, 
and these were ornamented with scarlet belts and head 
dresses, while tassels dangled from their ears. They ar- 
rived on the borders of the plain, and the two bands were 
separated from each other about fifty rods, and now the 
scene that presented itself beggars description. A thou- 
sand savages rushed into all the manoevers of a deadly 
fight, while the roar of musketry, the shrill sound of the 
war whistle, the horrible yelling, and the dashing too and 
fro upon their fiery steeds, which continued for half an 
hour, and approached us nearer and nearer until the 
froth from their horse's nostrils w^ould fly into our faces 
as they passed — these, with the savage pomposity with 
which they were caparisoned, and the frightful manner 
in which they were daubed with paint, their fiery visa- 
ges being striped with red, black, white, and yellow, 
were all calculated not only to inspire terror, but a dread 
of savage fury in the mind of every beholder. At the 
very height of the excitement, when it appeared that the 
next whirl of the savage cavalry would trample us all 
beneath their feet, Ellis stretched himself up to his 
utmost height upon the back of his splendid charger, and 
waving his hand over the dark mass, instantly all was 
quiet, and the terrifying yell of the savage was succeeded 
by profound silence. All dismounted, and the chiefs and 
principal men, shook hands with us, in token of friend- 
ship. All again mounted, ourselves joining the troop on 
horses provided by the Indians for our use, and they 
marched us back over the hill to a Httle plain beyond, 
for the purpose of entertaining us with a still farther 
exhibition of their customs. 

Connected with Ellis's band were some braves whom 
the whole nation delight to honor. The Blaekfeet 



174 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

Indians have always been the deadly enemies of the 
Nez Perces, and of all the braves, none are honored so 
much as those who have killed Blackfeet. One of them 
then present, has killed twelve with his own hands, 
taken their scalps and muskets, and brought them as 
trophies to his lodge. This he had done to revenge the 
death of an only brother, who, according to his story, 
was treacherously murdered by the Blackfeet. A large 
circle was formed around this brave, he occupying the 
centre of the circle, bearing on one arm the muskets he 
had captured from the enemy, and hanging on the other 
the scalps he had taken. He displayed these trophies 
before the multitude, and at the same time, gave a history 
of the manner in which each one was taken. Ellis said 
he was the greatest brave in the nation, and they always 
honor him in this way. A terrible battle had been re- 
cently fought by a party of the Nez Perces with a party 
of Blackfeet, in which the former were victorious. This 
battle was acted to the life, with the exception that no 
blood was shed. The scene then closed with a war 
dance, conducted by a chief whom the whites designate 
by the name of " Lawyer," and in whom is combined 
the cunning and shrewdness of the Indian, with the 
ability and penetration of the statesman. 

Though this savage "training" was more exciting than 
any martial display I had ever witnessed, yet it closed 
up quietly and peacefully, and as it had been conducted 
upon strictly temperance principles, all retired from the 
scene perfectly sober. At dark, of the thousand Indians 
present during the day, scarcely one was to be seen 
outside of his lodge. 

Ascertaining from Ellis that he designed to go down 
to meet the Kayuses when we returned, with some of his 
men, for the purpose of inducing them to accept of the 
laws which the Nez Perces had received, and with which 
they were well pleased, we waived our objections against 
his going, and on Thursday, the 18th, prepared to take 
our departure. 

Here I would take occasion to observe, that the Rev. 
Mr. Spaulding and his worthy companion are laboring 



m TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 175 

faithfully for both the spiritual and temporal good of this 
people, and in no place have I seen more visible fruits 
of labor thus bestowed. There are few missionaries in 
any part of the world more worthy of the confidence 
of the church that employs them, than these self-sacri- 
ficing servants of Jesus Christ. Far away from all 
civilized society, and depending for their safety from the 
fury of excited savages, alone in the protection of 
Heaven, they are entitled to the sympathies and prayers 
of the whole christian church. Bidding them farewell, 
we re-crossed the Clear- Water, where our horses were 
in waiting, rode back to Red Wolf's place, and slept. 

Next morning sent an Indian out among the hills to 
hunt for our horses, and as we were finishing our break- 
fast, which our boys had prepared for us. Red Wolf 
came out of his lodge and rung a large hand-bell, to call 
the Indians from the other lodges to their morning 
prayers. All assembled to the number of one hundred, 
an exhortation or harangue w^as given them by one of 
the chiefs, and then singing a hymn in the Indian tongue, 
two engaged in prayer. I was greatly surprised, in 
traveling through the Indian country, to find that these 
outward forms of Christianity are observed in almost 
every lodge. The Indians generally are nominally chris- 
tian, and about equally divided betwixt the Protestant 
and Catholic religion. 

At eight o'clock, a hallooing upon the side of the 
mountain indicated that our horses were found, and 
would soon be at our camp. Packing, saddling, and 
bridling were done in short order, and, Mr. Spaulding 
joining our party, we soon left the valley of the Snake 
River behind us. Examining the country more critically 
on our return than when we went out, we found it to 
be indescribably beautiful and picturesque, sometimes 
rising into the romantic and sublime, and generally well 
adapted to all pastoral purposes. No timber of any 
consequence appeared, except on the banks of the 
streams. Crossing the Tookaran, and Toosha, we stop- 
ped for supper on a beautiful brook, called Imaispa. We 
found we had barely provisions enough for this meal, 



176 TOUR TO THE INTJERIOR. « 

and two of us resolved to proceed, rather than go hun- 
gry all the next day. Letting our horses crop the grass 
for an hour, we traveled on ; Mr. Perkins and Mr. 
Spaulding preferring to remain where they were till 
morning. At daybreak we arrived at Dr. Whitman's, 
having set upon our horses all night. 

During our absence the Kayuses had all collected 
within a few miles of Dr. Whitman's, and were prepar- 
ing for the great meeting with the Nez Perces, on our 
return. 

On Saturday, 20th, Ellis, with three hundred of his 
people, arrived, and camped within a short distance of 
the mission. Wearied out by excessive labor, we put 
off the meeting of the two tribes until the ensuing 
week. 

Sunday morning about one hundred Indians assembled 
at the mission for religious worship, and were addressed 
by ail the missionaries present. In the afternoon I 
walked out on the plain a short distance, and soon found 
myself on a little rise of ground, where were two 
graves, one of which was inclosed in a picket. Inquir- 
ing who was buried there, my attendant replied, '' The 
grave inside the picket is that of the only child, a Httle 
daughter, of Mr. and Mrs. Whitman, who was drowned 
in that creek which passes near the house. That on the 
outside incloses the remains of Joseph, the Hawaiian, 
who lived with Dr. Whitman a number of years, and 
served him faithfully while he lived." This Hawaiian 
was a converted man, and possessing considerable talent, 
he was very useful to the mission. Though he was a 
great lover of the Indians, and would do all he could for 
their welfare, yet, when lie died, not one of them could 
be prevailed upon to assist in carrying him to the grave; 
but Dr. Whitman, and Mr. Pombrun, of Fort Walla- 
Walla, bore him upon their shoulders to the house 
appointed for all the living. 

I returned from this excursion reflecting upon the 
severe trials of missionaries, many of whom are com- 
pelled to bury their offspring with their own hands. 

Preached in the afternoon to seven Americans, two 



* TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 177 

of whom came in from their camp, three miles distant, 
where they were preparing to cross the mountains to 
the United States. One of these, Wm. C. Sutton, is 
truly '' a brand plucked from the burning." For three 
years he has been a living Avitness of the power of the 
gospel to save even the chief of sinners. He hved for 
many years in the Rocky mountains, and contracted all 
the vices common to the mountaineers ; but abandoning 
the trapper's life, and coming down among the mission- 
aries in the lower country, he was powerfully awakened 
to see the folly of his former course, and after struggHng 
for days on the brink of despair, was brought ''from 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to the 
living God." 

Monday, 22d. We were visited by a number of 
Indians in the morning, among whom was one by the 
name of Jacob, whose history is a clear exhibition of 
the cunning and wonderful credulity of the Indians. By 
some means he obtained a lai'ge picture from the whites, 
which he was told represented the devil, and Indian 
shrewdness at once suggested to him that he could use 
the picture greatly to his advantage among his people, 
who had always believed that an evil spirit existed, and 
had much to do in inflicting misery upon the Indians. 
Taking good care to keep his picture concealed, and 
preparing the way for the people to receive him in his 
supernatural character, by spending much of his time 
alone, apparently in solemn thought, and in performing 
his conjurations, he at length gave out that he had Dia- 
holus under his control, and could bring him up at any 
time, in the sight of the people. To prove his assertion, 
he left the camp, charging the people to watch him, and 
as he went behind a little breastwork, several rods off, 
which he had prepared for the occasion, to keep their 
eyes fixed upon the top of the breastwork. Performing 
his incantations awhile, at length Diaholus appeared to 
the terrified Indians, rising slowly above the breastwork. 
Jacob had accomplished his object, proved himself mas- 
ter of the Devil, and by this manoeuver secured to him- 
self unbounded influence among his people. 
8 



178 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. * 

During the day, Nez Perce Indians continued to 
arrive, until six hundred people, and a thousand horses, 
appeared on the plains. The Kayuse and Walla- Walla 
bands united, forming a troop of three hundred men, all 
mounted. These met the Nez Perces on the plain in 
front of Dr. Whitman's house, and then a scene similar 
to that at Lapwai, presented itself. The Indians worked 
themselves up into a high state of excitement, and Ellis 
said afterwards that he thought the Kayuses were de- 
termined to fight in good earnest. Tauitau, the Catholic 
chief, as he approached us, appeared quite angry, and 
disposed to quarrel. Seeing the excitement increase, 
and fearing that it might end seriously, unless the atten- 
tion of the Indians could be drawn to some other subject, 
Mr. Spaulding gave notice that all would repair to Dr. 
W.'s house, for the purpose of tallapoosa, (worship). 
But Tauitau came forward in a very boisterous manner, 
and inquired what we had made all this disturbance for. 
We repaired to the house, followed by several hundred 
Indians, and after engaging in a season of prayer, found 
that the excitement had died away, and the Indians were 
scattering to their lodges for the night. 

Tuesday, 23d. The chiefs and principal men of both 
tribes came together at Dr. Whitman's to hear what we 
had to say. They were called to order by Tauitau, 
who by this time had got over his excitement, and then 
was placed before them the object of our visit. Among 
other things they were told that much had been said 
about war, and we had come to assure them that they 
had nothing to fear from that quarter ; that the Presi- 
dent of the United States had not sent the Doctor to 
their country, to make war upon them, but to enter into 
arrangements with them to regulate their intercourse 
with the white people. We were not there to catch 
them in a trap as a man would catch a beaver, but to do 
them good ; and if they would lay aside their former 
practices and prejudices, stop their quarrels, cultivate 
their lands, and receive good laws, they might become a 
great and a happy people ; that in order to do this, they 
must all be united, for they were but few in comparison 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 179 

to the whites ; and if they were not all of one heart, 
they w^ould be able to accompHsh nothing ; that the 
chiefs should set the example and love each other, and 
not get proud and haughty, but consider the people as 
their brothers and their children, and labor to do them 
good ; that the people should be obedient, and in their 
morning and evening prayers they should remember 
their chiefs. 

Liberty was then given for the chiefs to speak, and 
Ellis remarked that it would not be proper for the Nez 
Perce chiefs to speak until the Kayuse people should 
receive the laws. The Kayuse chiefs replied, " If you 
want us to receive the laws, bring them forward and let 
us see them, as we cannot take them unless we know 
what they are." 

A speech was then delivered to the young men to 
impress them favorably with regard to the laws. They 
were told that they would soon take the places of the 
old men, and they should be willing to act for the good 
of the people ; that they should not go here and there 
and spread false reports about war ; and that this had 
been the cause of all the difficulty and excitement which 
had prevailed among them during the past winter. 

The laws were then read, first in English, and then in 
the Nez Perce. 

Yellow Serpent then rose and said : '' I have a mes- 
sage to you. Where are these laws from? Are they 
from God or from the earth 1 I would that you might 
say, they were from God. But I think they are from 
the earth, because, from what I know of white men, 
they do not honor these laws. 

In answer to this, the people were informed that the 
laws were recognized by God, and imposed on men in 
all civilized countries. Yellow Serpent was pleased 
with the explanation, and said that it was according to 
the instructions he had received from others, and he was 
very glad to learn that it was so, because many of his 
people had been angry with him when he had whipped 
them for crime, and had told him that God would send 
him to hell for it, and he was glad to know that it was 
pleasing to God." 



180 rOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

Telaukaikt, a Kay use chief, rose and said : " What do 
you read the laws for before we take them 1 We do 
not take the laws because Tauitau says so. He is a 
Catholic, and as a people we do not follow his worship." 
Dr. White replied that this did not make any difference 
about law ; that the people in the States had different 
modes of worship, yet all had one law. 

Then a chief, called the Prince, arose and said : "I 
understand you gave us liberty to examine every law — 
all the words and lines — and as questions are asked 
about it, we should get a better understanding of it. 
The people of this country have but one mind about it. 
I have something to say, but perhaps the people will 
dispute me. As a body, we have not had an opportunity 
to consult, therefore you come to us as in a wind, and 
speak to us as to the air, as we have no point, and we 
cannot speak because we have no point before us. The 
business before us is whole, like a body we have not 
dissected it. And perhaps you will say that it is out of 
place for me to speak, because I am not a great chief. 
Once I had influence, but now I have but little." 

Here he was about to sit down, but was told to go on. 
He then said, — " When the whites first came among us, 
we had no cattle, they have given us none ; what we 
have now got we have obtained by an exchange of 
property. A long time ago Lewis and Clark came to 
this country, and I want to know what they said about 
us. Did they say that they found friends or enemies 
here]" Being told that they spoke well of the Indians, 
the prince said, " that is a reason why the whites should 
unite with us, and all become one people. Those wiio 
have been here before you, have left us no memorial of 
their kindness, by giving us presents. We speak by 
way of favor. If you have any benefit to bestow, we 
will then speak more freely. One thing that we can 
s})eak about is cattle, and the reason why we cannot 
S()cak out now i^ because we have not the thing before 
us. My people are poor and blind, and we must have 
something tangible. Other chiefs have bewildered me 
snice they came ; yet 1 am from an honorable stock. 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 181 

Promises which have been made to me and my fathers, 
have not been fulfilled, and I am made miserable ; but it 
will not answer for me to speak out, for my people do 
not consider me as their chief. One thing more ; you 
have reminded me of what was promised me sometime 
ago, and I am inclined to follow on and see ; though I 
have been giving my beaver to the whites, and have 
received many promises, and have always been disap 
pointed. I want to know what you are going to do." 

Illutin, or Big Belly, then arose and said, that the 
old men were wearied with the wickedness of the young 
men. That if he was alone, he could say yes at once 
to the laws, and that the reason why the young men did 
not feel as he felt was because they had stolen property 
in their hands, and the laws condemned stealing. But 
he assured them that the laws were calculated to do 
them good, and not evil. 

But this did not satisfy the prince. He desired that 
the good which it was proposed to do them by adopting 
the laws, might be put in a tangible form before them. 
He said that it had been a long time since the country 
had been discovered by whites, and that ever since that 
time, people had been coming along, and promising to 
do them good ; but they had all passed by and left no 
blessing behind them. That the Hudson's Bay Company 
had persuaded them to continue with them, and not go 
after the Americans ; that if the Americans designed to 
do them good why did they not bring goods with them 
to leave with the Indians 1 that they were fools to Hsten 
to what the Yankees had to say ; that they would only 
talk, but the company would both talk and give them 
presents. 

In reply to this the Doctor told them that he did not 
come to them as a missionary, nor as a trader. 

It was now nearly night, but just before the meeting 
closed a gun was fired in one of the lodges, and directly 
John, the Hawaiian, came running to the house with 
his hand up to his head, and the blood running down 
his face, and as he came into the assembly he cried out 



182 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

with great agitation, " Indian, he kille me ! Indian, he 
killeme!" 

John had been to the lodge for the purpose of trading 
with the young Indians, and the Indians became angry 
at John and threatened to shoot him. John told them 
that they dare not do it, and one of them instantly seized 
a musket and lodged the contents of it in the side of 
John's head. Fortunately there was no ball in the gun, 
consequently the results were not serious, though a hole 
was cut to the bone, an inch in diameter. 

In the evening Elhs and Lawyer came in to have a 
talk. They said they expected pay for being chiefs, and 
wished to know how much salary Dr. White was going 
to give them. Ellis said he had counted the months he 
had been in office, and thought that enough was due him 
to make him rich. They left at a late hour without 
receiving any satisfaction. 

Wednesday, 24th. Some hundreds again assembled 
to resume the business relative to laws ; but the first 
thing investigated was the shooting of John. The Indian, 
immediately after committing the deed, had fled, but the 
chiefs took summary measures to bring him back. He 
was brought before the assembly and found guilty of 
the crime, but the sentence was postponed until they 
received the laws. 

The Indians then continued to speak in reference to the 
laws, and their speeches were grave, energetic, mighty 
and eloquent, and generally in favor of receiving the laws. 
After all had spoken it was signified that they were 
ready for the vote whether they would take the laws or 
not, and the vote was unanimous in the affirmative. 
Having adopted the laws, it was now necessary to elect 
their chiefs, according to the provisions of the law ; and 
Tauitau was nominated to the high chieftainship. Some 
were opposed ; a majority were in favor, and while the 
question was pending Tauitau rose and said : " My 
friends, my friends, I rise to speak to you, and I want 
you all to Hsten." He then adverted to their past histo- 
ries, and told them how much thev had suffered in 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 183 

consequence of their divisions and quarrels, and then 
inquired if they would lay aside all their past difficulties, 
and come up and support him, if he would accept of the 
chieftainship. 

It was now time to close for that day, and the vote 
being put, Tauitau was declared duly elected to the high 
chieftainship of the Kayuse tribe. Before the meeting 
adjourned, Dr. White presented the Indians with a fat 
ox which he bought of the mission, and Mrs. Whitman 
gave them a fat hog. These they butchered directly, 
and feasted upcn them till ten o'clock at night, when all 
was consumed. 

Thursday, 25th. A number of the chiefs came early in 
morning at our request, to settle a difficulty concerning 
some horses which they gave to Rev. Jason Lee, when 
he first came to Oregon, Mr. Lee having requested us to 
come to an arrangement with them, if possible. After 
a long talk, we succeeded in settling with them by propo- 
sing to give them a cow for each horse that they had 
given Mr. Lee. We found that the Indians always ex- 
pect to be well paid for a present. 

After this the Indians again assembled, and Tauitau 
came forward and certified that he had made up his 
mind that he could not accept of the chieftainship in 
consequence of the difference of his religion from that 
of the most of his people. He was accordingly excused 
from serving, and Five Crows, his brother, was immedi- 
ately nominated. When the virtues and firmness of 
Five Crows were spoken of, the people exclaimed, " our 
hearts go towards him with a rush." His election was 
nearly unanimous, and highly pleasing to the whites, of 
whom he is a great friend, particularly of the Americans. 
He was so affected when his appointment was announced, 
that he wept. It required but a short time to elect the 
subordinate chiefs, after which Mr. Perkins and myself 
addressed the meeting on the subject of the discovery 
of the country by Americans, their settling in it, and the 
necessity of living together on friendly terms; and then 
the meeting, which had been continued for four days, and 
at some stages of which the utmost excitement had pre- 



184 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

vailed, came to a peaceful conclusion, and all went about 
preparing for the closing feast. 

A second ox was butchered, cut into small pieces and 
boiled. It was then spread out upon the grass, and cut 
into mouthfuls, put on to plates, pans, pail covers, and 
pieces of boards, and placed along in the centre of a 
large temporary lodge, made of skins, and about seventy- 
five feet long. The people were then all called together, 
and took their seats on the ground, ourselves being con- 
ducted by the chiefs to some seats of skins prepared on 
the windward side of the lodge, so that we would be 
secure from the smoke, all, when seated, forming a 
lengthened ring around the food, three and four persons 
deep. Five Crows called the table to order, when a 
blessing was asked; then several Indians passed around 
the meat to all present, the number, as near as we could 
judge, being six hundred, embracing men, women and 
children. Fingers were used instead of forks, and the 
clattering of teeth and smacking of lips served as music 
while the process of mastication was going on. All 
seemed intent upon the business before them; laws, 
speeches, and war, were lost sight of, and the eating of 
the ox absorbed every other consideration. It was only 
necessary for each person to eat one pound, and all 
would be consumed. In twenty minutes the ox which, 
three hours before, was peacefully feeding on the prairie, 
was lodged in the stomachs of six hundred Indians. 
After the feast EUis arose and said that it was fashionable 
among the Indians for all the chiefs to unite with the 
whites at such a time as this, in smoking the pipe, in 
token of their alliance and friendship. Accordingly, the 
pipe of peace was brought forward. Its stem was one 
inch in diameter, and three feet long, and the bowl four 
inches long and two in diameter, and made out of a spe- 
cies of dark free-stone. Ellis passed it around, to the 
chiefs first, and then to the whites, after which speeches 
were delivered by Five Crows, Ellis, Lawyer, Brothers, 
Tauitau, and Yellow Serpent; a season of prayer fol- 
lowed and the scene was closed. Next morning the 
Indians all came to give us the friendly hand before we 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 185 

parted; and the chiefs informed us that they had sen- 
tenced the Indian who shot John to a punishment of forty 
lashes on his bare back. Thus closed our negotiations, 
and the immense crowd of Indians, taking their leave, 
returned to their homes in the utmost order. In the 
evening all was still, and, walking out to the camping 
ground where the fires were still blazing, I found but one 
solitary old Indian, who was boiling up the feet of the 
ox for his next day's supplies. 

Saturday, 27th. The forenoon was employed in pre- 
paring to return home; and at one, p. m., took our depar- 
ture from Waialetpu. Mrs. Whitman accompanied us 
back to the lower country. Traveled fourteen miles, 
and encamped for the Sabbath on a branch of the Walla- 
Walla River, called the Tusha, near its mouth. The 
land along the Walla- Walla and its tributaries is gener- 
ally very fertile, except in those places where it is 
strongly impregnated with sal soda. The face of the 
country is truly beautiful. 

Monday, 29th. Moved camp, and proceeding a few 
miles, met the Rev. Mr. Eells from Tshimkain, a mission 
station among the Spokan Indians. He was on his way 
to Waialetpu and Lapwai, and thence home. He gave 
us an account of his mission, rather discouraging upon 
the whole, from the opposition arrayed against him from 
the Catholics. Leaving him to pursue his journey alone, 
we continued on to fort Walla- Walla, and dined with 
Mr. McKinley, who has charge of it. Here Mrs. Whit- 
man decided to stop for the arrival of the Hudson's Bay 
Company's brigade of boats from the upper forts, which 
was expected in a day or two, preferring that mode of 
conveyance to riding on horse-back. After dinner we 
crossed the Walla- Walla river, and desiring to make 
some observations in the vicinity, encamped for the night. 
Towards evening I walked out alone to take a view of 
the burying ground of the Walla- Walla tribe. It was 
whitened with the bones of horses that had been slain 
over the graves of their owners, while here and there 
could be seen a human skull lying by the side of a 
horse's head. One of the most singular cases of volun 



186 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

tary interment recorded in the annals of heathen super- 
stition, took place in this burying ground some twenty- 
five years ago. There resided in this vicinity a man 
belonging to the Walla- Walla tribe, w^ho, rising by his 
own merits, became the most successful warrior, and re- 
nowned chieftain of which the Walla- Wallas could ever 
boast. During his life, his people were the terror of all 
the surrounding tribes; and where-ver he led them out 
against the enemy, he was sure to bring them back in 
triumph, bearing the numerous trophies of his victories 
in the form of scalps, muskets, shields, &lc. These he 
hung as so many ornaments, to the sides of his lodge. 
Years of uninterrupted prosperity passed, and the old 
man saw his five sons grow up by his side. As they 
arrived to manhood, they strikingly resembled himself, 
not only in their tall, athletic and commanding forms, 
but also in their astonishing bravery and indomitable will. 
His word was the law of his tribe, and he had learned 
even his own people to tremble at his nod. His voice 
of command was never disobeyed, whether raised amidst 
the tumult of battle, the quiet of his village, or at the 
fire side of his own wigwam. He was justly proud of 
his sons, and saw, in the changeless afiection they bore 
to their father, their love to one another, and their unri- 
valed talents, not only his own comfort and support in 
old age, when he would become useless, but also the 
continued prosperity of his beloved tribe. 

But a cloud was rising to darken the prospects of the 
aged chief. His eldest son, the glory of the tribe, the 
heir to the chieftainship, was slain in battle, and the old 
man's grief was inconsolable. But he had other sons, 
and around them clustered his hopes. His eldest living 
one was now the heir, and every way qualified to suc- 
ceed him, but he had not ceased wailing for the eldest 
before the second was cut down; and then the third, and 
the fourth, some in battle, and some by disease. Now 
his youngest, Benjamin, alone was left; and the cup 
of the old man's grief was nearly full. Bitterly did he 
complain of that cruel fate that had bereft him of his 
sons, and he found consolation only in the refle'/io,^ that 



TOUR TO THE Ix\TERIOR. 187 

they had been great warriors, and eve ry way worthy of 
their father. But n-ow they were dead, and all his atiec- 
tions centered in his youngest boy. Surely, thought he, 
my only remaining son of five, as noble as ever father 
could boast, will live to be my support in my declining 
years; he will be my staff when my palsied limbs can 
scarcely bear me in and out of my wigwam; he will close 
my eyes when I lie down to die; he will mourn over my 
grave when I am buried; he will heir my property when 
I am no more, and as chief of the Walla- Walla nation 
he will follow in the footsteps of his father. 

But disease was already preying upon the vitals of that 
beloved son, and the father felt his last prop crumble 
beneath him, as his son expired before his eyes. Like a 
person under the influence of some desperate resolution, 
he left the wigwam where lay the wreck of his hopes, 
and went to fort Walla- Walla, which was commanded 
by Englishmen, and told them of the death of his last 
son, and requested them to make arrangements to have 
him buried according to the EngHsh custom. Comply- 
ing with his request, the dead body was put into a coffin, 
the funeral service read, and the dark procession moved 
to the grave, the people showing the sincerity of their 
sorrow by bitter wailing and tears; but the old man's 
grief was too deep thus to find relief. The coffin was 
lowered into the deep dug grave, and the bearers were 
about to fill it with earth, when the old man stepped upon 
the grave's mouth and examined the dark abode of his 
son, then commanded them to desist until he had deliv- 
ered a message to the people. With a countenance 
indicating a settled purpose of soul, he looked around 
upon his beloved people, whose wailings had already 
given place to a death-Uke silence, and commanded them 
to listen to the trembling voice of their old chief, while 
he delivered to them his last speech. He then rehearsed 
before them the history of his life, painting, in glowing 
colors, the successes which had invariably attended him in 
the numerous wars in which he had been involved, with 
the surrounding tribes; the splendid trophies taken from 
the enemy with which his lodge was adorned, and the 



188 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

elevated position to which he had raised the Walla- 
Wallas, by the prowess of his arm ; and then with a 
heart throbbing with emotion he traced the history of 
his doting sons. He had sustained them in infancy; he 
had taught them to love and to obey him; he had trained 
them to be w^arriors; he had seen them rush bravely 
into the deadly fight, and bear off the palm of victory; 
and he had fondly hoped that they would have long 
survived him. But a cruel fate had robbed him of his 
boys; his last hope had perished, the sun of his pros- 
perity had set, and left him surrounded with the darkness 
of despair; and he was now like a tree whose branches 
had been broken off, and whose trunk had been shattered 
to pieces by the successive strokes of the thunder-bolt. 
And then assuring them that no entreaty should prevent 
him from accomplishing his design, he announced to them 
the startling fact, that he had resolved not to survive the 
burial of his youngest son; and rushing into the grave 
he stretched himself upon the coffin of his son, and com- 
manded the people to bury him with his beloved boy. 
A general burst of lamentation from the multitude sur- 
rounding the grave rose upon the breeze as the last com- 
mand of the mighty chief was as promptly obeyed as 
any he had ever issued in the day of battle. Thus 
perished the glory of the Wall a- Walla nation. 

Fort Walla-Walla is situated on the left bank of the 
Columbia, just above the mouth of the Walla- Walla 
River. It may more properly be called a trading post, 
as it looks but little like a fort except that two or three 
small buildings are enclosed in an adobey wall, about 
twelve feet high. The company and some private indi- 
viduals met with considerable loss, not long ago, from 
the burning of this fort, which was supposed to have 
been fired by* the Indians. The land around is very 
barren, though the face of the country is good. The 
company cultivate a farm about three miles from the 
fort, on the banks of the Walla- Walla. 

Tuesday, 30th. Rode sixty-five miles, but on the 31st, 
both man and beast were so fatigued that we were una- 
])le to travel more than twenty-five miles. During this 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 189 

day I proceeded on in advance of the party about one 
mile, and stopping my horse, dismounted, and took my 
blanket from my saddle, threw it upon the ground, lay 
down upon it, and instantly dropt into a sound sleep. 
There I should doubtless have remained for hours, if one 
of the party, who had fallen in the rear, had not awak- 
ened me, the others having passed within a few feet 
without my knowing it. 

Thursday, June 1st. Arrived at the mission station 
below the Dalls, where we met with news from the 
lower country, ships having arrived in the Columbia 
River, bringing letters, goods and passengers for Oregon. 
As Dr. White expected to be detained some time at the 
Dalls, I resolved to proceed homeward the first oppor- 
tanity. Fortunately the brigade of boats for which 
Mrs. Whitman awaited at Walla- Walla, arrived at the 
Dalls a few hours after w^e did ; and applying to Mr. 
Ogden, who had command of the brigade, I obtained a 
passage in his boat down the Columbia River to Fort 
Vancouver. The boats were nine in number, each ca- 
pable of carrying five or six tons ; all loaded with furs 
which had been collected in the vast interior, and now 
on their way to the general depot at Vancouver, where 
they were to be examined, dried, packed and shipped 
for London. Associated with Mr. Ogden wei'e Mr. 
McDonald, and Mr. Ermatinger, the two former being 
chief factors in the company, and the latter a chief tra- 
der, both honorable and lucrative offices. Sixty men 
were required to man the boats, and these were all 
French Canadians, and half-caste Iroquois. 

We all remained at the Dalls over night, and on Fri- 
day, the 2d of June, moved down the river a few miles, 
and were met with a head wind, which soon blew to a 
gale, compelhng us to put to shore, which we succeeded 
in gaining with some difficulty, breaking one of our 
boats against the rocks, in the attempt. Here we were 
detained for some hours, during which Mr. Ogden rela- 
ted some of his wonderful adventures among the Indians 
with whom he had resided for more than thirty years. 

He was an eve witness to a remarkable circumstance 



190 TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 

that transpired at the Dalls, during one of his voyages 
up the Columbia. He arrived at the Dalls on the Sab- 
bath day, and seeing a congregation of some three hun- 
dred Indians assembled not far from the river, he drew 
near to ascertain the cause, and found the Rev. H. K. 
W. Perkins dispensing to them the word of reconcilia- 
tion, through a crucified Redeemer. There was sitting 
in the outskirts of the congregation an Indian woman 
who had been, for many years, a doctress in the tribe, 
and who had just expended all her skill upon a patient, 
the only son of a man whose wigwam was not far dis- 
tant, and for the recovery of whose son she had become 
responsible, by consenting to become his physician. All 
her efforts to remove the disease were unavailing, the 
father was doomed to see his son expire. Believing that 
the doctress had the power of preserving life or inflicting 
death according to her will, and that instead of curing 
she had killed his boy, he resolved upon the most sum- 
mary revenge. Leaving his dead son in the lodge, he 
broke into the congregation with a large butcher-knife 
in his hand, and rushing upon the now terrified doctress, 
seized her by the hair, and with one blow across her 
throat, laid her dead at his feet. 

The wind continued to blow until nearly midnight, 
when a loud call from the pilot warned us that we must 
leave camp. Though it was very dark, the voyageurs 
were well acquainted with the river, and continued to 
ply the oars until three o'clock in the morning, when 
they brought up a few miles above the cascades, to wait 
for daylight. In the morning proceeded to the cascades, 
where we were detained for several hours, while the 
voyageurs carried their boats and furs across a portage 
of half a mile. 

The portage was made, and the boats again loaded, 
but still there were fearful rapids below, which they de- 
signed to run. Mr. Ogden preferring to walk across a 
point of land down to the foot of the first rapid, I vol- 
unteered to accompany him, and coming to an eddy 
below the point, we awaited the arrival of the boats. 

Soon the first came, booming around the point, and 



TOUR TO THE INTERIOR. 191 

thrown violently up and down by the rolling current , 
then the second, and the third, and so on, till the whole 
nine appeared in sight. Only two of them gained the 
eddy, in one of which was Mrs. Whitman; all the others 
were borne down the tumbling torrent with fearful fury, 
and it appeared to us on shore, that they must inevitably 
be lost. One only was capsized, and its crew of eight 
men struggled hard in the mighty current, until they 
were all picked up by the other boats, some of them 
being quite exhausted, and one so far gone that it was 
with considerable difficulty that he was restored. The 
boat also, with all its cargo, was saved. After this we 
were highly favored with respect to wind and current, 
and on Sunday, at two o'clock, p. m., we arrived in 
safety at Fort Vancouver. 

Monday, the 5th. Procured a passage in one of the 
company's barges to the Wallamette Falls ; and the fol- 
lowing day a ride on horseback of fifty miles brought 
me back to my own dwelling, having, since I left home, 
performed a journey of one thousand miles. 



CHAPTER X. 

Homeward bound — Departure from Oregon — Lost in a fog — Vancouver— Unex- 
pected meeting — Night running — Labor lost — Dreary encampment — Sabbatk 
_ — Pillar Rock — Fort George — Clatsop Plains — A whale — Entertainment — 
Embai'kation — Detention — Great cave — Weigh anchor — Remarkable escape 
from shipwreck — Driven back — Second trial successful — Voyage — Mani — 
Night danger — Arrival at Oahu — Shipping — English fleet — News from home 
— Rev. Jason Lee — "HoaTita" — Affecting separation — Admiral Thomas — 
Great alarm — Detention — How improved. 

Late in the fall of 1843, information was received on 
the Wallamatte that the English barque Columbia wsls 
about to sail from Vancouver to the Sandwich Islands, 
and would take a certain number of passengers. Ac- 
cordingly, Rev. Jason Lee, John Ricord, Esq., of New 
York, and myself and family, engaged passage ; Mr. 
Ricord at three dollars per day, and the rest of us at 
two and a half each, the half dollar being deducted in 
consequence of our being missionaries. Mr. Lee and 
myself designed, after arriving at the Sandwich Islands, 
to take the first opportunity to proceed to the United 
States, but Mr. Ricord designed to remain at the 
Islands. 

Having made the necessary arrangements, and put all 
our baggage into one of the company's batteaux to take 
to the vessel, we took a small boat in tow, in which we 
intended to proceed from Vancouver down the Columbia. 
At dark we took leave of our friends, who stood on the 
banks of the river to witness our departure. There 
being a good moon, we did not apprehend much difiiculty 
in running in the night, as we were well acquainted with 
the river, and we were willing to venture a little to get 
our baggage on board, before the vessel dropped down 
the Columbia. Proceeding on till a late hour at night, 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 193 

we lost ourselves in a dense fog, and supposing that by 
some unaccountable twist we had got turned about, and 
were going the wrong way, we resolved as soon as 
posisble to make the shore. Finding a place where we 
could fasten our boats we remained quiet until morning. 
At nine o'clock the fog had disappeared, and thereby 
disclosing the shores to our view, enabled us to ascertain 
our position. Moving forward, we labored hard with 
our oars during the day, and at dark came along side of 
the vessel which lay in the Columbia a short distance 
above the mouth of the Wallamette. Leaving all our 
baggage, except such as we should need on our trip down 
the Columbia, we passed on, and at nine in the evening 
arrived at Vancouver ; but as the gates of the fort were 
closed, we were obliged to encamp on the beach for the 
night. 

Having accomplished our business, on the 6th we took 
our leave of our hospitable friends at Vancouver, but 
the tide being against us, we made slow headway. At 
seven o'clock, p. m., however, we came up with the ship, 
and being invited by Captain Humphries, we spent a 
comfortable night on board. Next morning proceeded 
on in our small boat, and as there was no wind to favor 
the ship, w^e soon left her behind. At two o'clock, p. m., 
passed the mouth of the Multnomah, and landed a short 
time at the point where, in 1835, Capt. Wyeth attempted 
to establish a trading post, but failed, as every other 
such attempt has done, from coming in contact with, and 
meeting the opposition of, the Hudson's Bay Company. 
A little below this point we stopped to dine, on a fine 
gravelly beach, and while preparing our dinner, several 
canoes appeared below^ us, moving up the stream. Dis- 
covering our smoke, they made for the point, and on 
coming to the shore, we found, in one of the canoes, 
Mr. W. W. Raymond and his family, who were on their 
way from Clatsop, at the mouth of the river, up to the 
Wallamette. Mr. Raymond was employed as a farmer 
at a mission station established on the Clatsop plains. 
With them we spent a pleasant hour, during which we 
regaled ourselves upon an unusual variety for such a 



194 HOMEWARD BOUND. 

time, our dinner consisting of beef, pork, potatoes, bread, 
butter, pie, cake, and raspberry preserves ; but we 
feasted with the expectation of suffering hunger before 
we arrived at Clatsop, if the winds and weather did not 
favor our progress. Taking leave of our friends, we 
departed from our delightful encampment, and with the 
tide in our favor, proceeded on our voyage. Night 
came on, and a dense fog rendered it difhcult to run ; 
nevertheless we concluded there could be little danger 
of our going wrong so long as we felt the force of the 
tide bearing us downward ; but we soon found that we 
were missing our way, and running in behind an island, 
at the lower end of which a sand-bar had formed across 
the channel, on which the water was so shallow that we 
could not pass with our boat. Backing around, we 
rowed hard for an hour, when we found ourselves again 
at the head of the island, and by this time the darkness 
was somewhat dispelled by the rising moon, and we 
ventured to run on until midnight. 

Mooring our boat in a little bay among the rocks, we 
clambered up on the side of a mountain, covered with a 
dense forest, where we spent the remainder of the night. 
Our place of encampment presented a striking contrast 
to the one we had just left, being among the rugged and 
precipitous cliffs which overhung the river on the left- 
hand shore, and as everything around had been tho- 
roughly soaked with rain we found it exceedingly diffi- 
cult to light a fire. 

But after burning my fingers to a blister, scorching 
my face, and singing ofi" my eye-brows, by flashing- 
powder, 1 at length accomplished my object, and our 
dreary encampment assumed a more cheering aspect. 

On Saturday, the 8th, proceeded down as far as Oak 
Point, which is about thirty miles above Astoria, and 
encamped for the Sabbath under a precipice of rocks on 
the opposite side from the point. This precipice, which 
rises several hundred feet, is composed of different 
layers or strata of irregular, massive amigdaloid and 
basalt, and, contrasted with the low flat shore on the 
opposite side, presents a very imposing appearance. 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 195 

Here, amidst the solitude of rocks, forest, and water, 
we experienced the truth that devotion is not confined 
to the damask desks and cushioned seats of refined civil- 
ization, but cheers with her presence the lonely and 
wandering exile. 

Monday, 9th. Ran down to Pillar Rock, fourteen 
miles above Astoria, where, being met by the flood-tide, 
we were obliged to camp. This rock is a great natural 
curiosity. It is a mighty column of basalt standing 
alone in the midst of the river, and though not more 
than fifteen or twenty feet in diameter at its base, it 
rises perpendicular on all sides to the height of more 
than one hundred feet. Remaining here over night, the 
next morning we crossed the river diagonally from Pillar 
Rock to Tongue Point, the distance of eleven miles, 
without serious accident, though the wind was high, and 
the boat took in considerable water. At twelve arrived 
at Astoria, where we met with a very cordial reception 
from Mr. Birney and his family, whose hospitalities we 
shared until the following day. This gentleman is an 
officer in the Hudson's Bay Company, and one of its 
pioneers. In common with all the English and Scotch 
magnates of the forest, he possesses the disposition to 
entertain strangers, both with the comforts his house 
affords, and by narrating his different campaigns, trials, 
sufferings, contests with the Indians, and hair-breadth 
escapes. 

This place is now called Fort George by the English, 
but doubtless will resume the name of Astoria when it 
is settled that the country belongs to the United States. 

In the afternoon of the 10th, Rev. J. L. Parrish, who 
is employed as a missionary among the Indians on the 
Clatsop Plains, came from Point Adams across the mouth 
of Young's Bay in a canoe, and met us at the fort, de- 
signing to proceed up the river to visit some Indian clans 
in the vicinity of the Katlamette Islands ; but falling in 
with us, he resolved to return, and the next morning 
took us all in his large canoe safely to Point Adams, 
though the bay was quite rough from the effects of a 
strong east wind. From Point Adams south to a high 



196 HOMEWARD BOUND. 

promontory called Kilemook's Head, the distance of 
twenty-five miles, is a broad sand beach, which at low- 
tide constitutes a splendid road. 

On our landing on the point, an Indian was dispatched 
with a note to inform Mrs. Parrish of our arrival, and 
to procure a horse and cart to carry us and our baggage 
down the beach, the distance of seven miles, to their 
residence. At sunset our transportation was acconi- 
plished, and we found ourselves comfortably situated 
with our kind friends, Mr. and Mrs. Parrish, on what is 
called the Clatsop Plains. 

It is only necessary for one to walk up from tide water 
about one hundred feet to the top of the first ridge, to 
become convinced that these undullating plains have 
been formed by the constant accumulation of sands, de- 
posited by the ceaseless action of the waves of the 
Pacific ocean. They are about twenty miles long, and 
from one to two and a half miles broad, and contain 
about forty square miles. There is a tract of timbered 
land lying between the prairie and Young's Bay, con- 
taining twice the amount of land there is in the plains. 
The timber is of a very good quality, and comprises fir, 
spruce, pine, cedar, hemlock, and alder. * There is little 
doubt but that all this tract of land, which now lies only 
a few feet above the level of the ocean, was once entire- 
ly submerged; that from Cape Disappointment to Kile- 
mook Head, the distance of thirty miles, and from the 
present mouth of the Columbia to Tongue Point, the 
distance of fifteen miles, it was once a large bay, and 
that the level tract of country back of Point Adams, 
comprising Clatsop Plains, and the tract of woodland 
above mentioned, have been formed by the sand and 
various vegetable substances that, from time immemorial, 
have washed down the Columbia River, and have been 
deposited here by the continued action of the tide. The 
evidences of this are, first, the fact that the soil is of the 
same alluvial character that is found on the shores of the 
river above; and, second, there are several ridges, or 
undulations, which extend the entire length of the plains, 
and curve precisely with the shore, and which all appear 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 197 

to have successively formed the boundary of the Pacific 
ocean. Some of these ridges appear in the woods, and 
large trees have grown on the top of them, which proves 
that this tract has been forming for hundreds of years. 
The soil, if we may judge from the immense growth of 
grass and weeds on the plains, is of a superior quality. 
The location is delightful, the scenery of ocean and 
mountain on a grand scale, and evidently this will be one 
of the most valuable portions of Oregon. At present, 
there are six American citizens settled on the plains, and 
as many more have taken claims. 

On Thursday, the 21st, we received a note from Cap- 
tain Humphries, informing us that the ship had arrived 
at Fort George; and taking leave of our friends on the 
Clatsop Plains, we proceeded up the beach towards the 
mouth of the Columbia. 

On our way we fell in with a fin back whale that had 
been driven ashore by the fury of the south-west gales. 
Though this is a common occurrence, more or less being 
driven up every year, yet it is considered by the settlers 
and Indians on the plains, as a very lucky event. It is a 
rule among both classes, that when a whale is driven 
ashore, each one is entitled to all he can get. When we 
discovered the object, Mr. Lee, Mr. Ricord and myself, 
were in advance of the rest of the party, and in our 
rear were a number of Indians, who were going up to 
row us across Young's Bay to Fort George, and Mr. 
Solomon Smith, an American who resides on the plains, 
and who had kindly taken Mrs. H. and the children into 
his cart to carry them up to point Adams. When Smith 
first discovered the object, he exclaimed, '^ Who knows 
but that Providence has sent me up out of the ocean 
fifty dollars'? Yonder is something that looks like a 
whale." We were all speedily up with the object, Smith 
and the Indians manifesting as much joy at their good 
luck as a man would feel who had unexpectedly received 
an immense fortune; and they all seemed instantly to 
forget that they were going to assist us up to fort George. 
Smith having no other instrument than a jack knife, and 
fearing that the Indians who were just behind, would 



198 HOMEWARD BOUND. 

get more than he, left his horse and cart standing in the 
centre of the wide beach, sprang nimbly on to the car- 
case of the huge monster, and with his knife traced that 
portion of the animal to which he intended to lay claim. 
It was somewhat pleasing to observe that the Indians, in 
their selections, paid the utmost respect to the pre-emption 
right of Mr. Smith. Here was no jumping of claims, 
but as one after another arrived, all were satisfied to 
select from that part of the vast surface of the whale 
around which lines had not been run. We witnessed 
the dividing of the spoil a short time, and not being able 
to get either Smith or the Indians to proceed any farther 
till they had secured all the blubber, I took the cart in 
charge. At sundown we encamped on Point Adams, 
contenting ourselves with the idea that when the south- 
easter, which by this time began to rage, had abated, and 
the whale had all been removed from the beach by its 
despoilers, we should be able to cross Young's Bay to 
fort George, where the barque Columbia lay at anchor. 
The storm continued until the 23d, when Mr. Parrish 
came up with a number of Indians and took us across 
the bay. We were entertained over the Sabbath in the 
house of Mr. Birney, where I preached the gospel to 
some twenty-five persons, embracing the crew of the 
barque, the passengers, and the residents of Fort George. 
On the 25th, we were required, by the Captain, to em- 
bark, but as the wind was contrary, we were obliged to 
remain until the 26th, when we weighed anchor and ran 
down to Baker's Bay. This bay is the common anchor- 
age for ships after coming into the river and before going 
out. 

On leaving Fort George we were in hopes immediate- 
ly to pass over the bar of the Columbia, but on arriving 
at Baker's Bay the wind became adverse, and, with the 
prospect of a violent and tedious storm from the south 
and west, we came to anchor snug under Cape Disap- 
pointment, that we might be sheltered from the fury of 
winds and waves. 

Though at present it is a most dreary and barbarous 
looking region around Baker's Bay, yet, as Cape Disap- 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 199 

pointment must always be the guide of the mariner into 
the mouth of the river, and as the bay is the only safe 
anchorage, and vessels are always more or less detained 
in passing in and out, this must eventually become a 
place of considerable maritime importance. This is the 
only entrepot of the country, and consequently all 
supplies must pass either way through this channel. This 
river is the thoroughfare on which must be conveyed 
everything that goes to and from the interior, and, judg- 
ing from the rapidity with which the country is filling 
up, the time is not far distant when steamboats will be 
flying up and down this river, as they are now seen on 
the Hudson and Mississippi. Three places ofl^er facili- 
ties for the establishment of the grand depot for the 
country, which must be located somewhere near the 
mouth of the river. These are the shore of Baker's 
Bay, back of Cape Disappointment, the east side of Point 
Adams, and old Astoria. One of these places may 
doubtless be contemplated as the location of some future 
splendid commercial city, say the New York of the 
west. 

While in Baker's Bay we experienced a very disa- 
greeable detention of forty days, during which the storm 
from the south and west, continued to rage, with unceas- 
ing violence. Day after day Captain Humphries and 
myself would climb to the top of Cape Disappointment, 
and look off on the broad expanse of the Pacific, and 
contemplate the majesty of the ocean as she rolled her 
mountain billows, and dashed them successively against 
the base of the mighty rock on which we stood. The 
huge swell, rolling in from the south-west, would break 
with fearful grandeur the entire width of the channel 
across the bar of the Columbia, and the thick haze dark- 
ening the horizon corroborated the indications of the 
barometer, that the storm had not yet abated. 

Occasionally, however, we were able to extend our 
walks along the shore north of the Cape, and view what- 
ever of interest presented itself. Here is a cave extend- 
ing into the rock one hundred and fifty feet, and 
containing the bones of animals, trunks of trees, and 



200 HOMEWARD BOUND. 

other substances, which the tide has there deposited. 
The country around presents an aspect wild beyond 
description. 

On the morning of the 31st of January, the wind blew 
fair from the north-west, and having been detained 
already beyond all endurance, the Captain resolved to 
make an effort to get to sea, though from the top of the 
Cape the mountain swell could be seen breaking across 
the channel. Accordingly, we weighed anchor, and 
soon passed Cape Disappointment, and steered for the 
channel across the dreaded bar. The Captain took his 
position on the foretop, and had not proceeded more than 
one mile and a half before he was convinced that he was 
premature in leaving the bay, as the bar was still too 
rough to attempt to cross. T^he anchor was immediately 
let go, and the Captain determined to remain where he 
was for an hour, in hopes that the ebb tide would run 
down the high sea on the bar, so as to admit of our 
crossing in safety. Again the anchor was raised, and 
the Captain resumed his position on the foretop, but as 
we approached what are called the north breakers, he 
came running down with great perturbation, and informed 
us that the huge sea was still breaking entirely across 
the channel, and that there was no prospect, if we at- 
tempted to cross, of saving either the vessel or our lives. 

To cast anchor where we were would be imminently 
dangerous, but there was no alternative, as it was impos- 
sible for us to get back into the bay. Accordingly, we 
hauled to, and dropt our anchor within a few cable's 
length of the north sands. The wind was blowing a 
gale, and a tremendous swell came rolling over the sand 
bar, and threatened instantly to overwhelm us, while the 
vessel was tossed about with the greatest violence. As 
if to add terror to the gloomy prospect before us, night 
came on, and enveloped us in total darkness. Loud 
nowled the wind, and the mighty breakers, rolling in 
majestic grandeur over the sand bar at the north of the 
channel, angrily shook their white locks around us during 
the whole night. If the vessel had dragged her anchor, 
or parted her cable, she must inevitably have been de- 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 201 

stroyed, and all on board have perished, as no small boat 
could have lived in that sea for a single moment. 

In addition to the miseries of seasickness, during that 
dismal night, the horrors of shipwreck were vividly por- 
trayed before us as we thought of the ship Isabelle, 
which was cast away upon a sand-bar but a short dis- 
tance from our stern, of the William and Ann which was 
wrecked on the same bar in 1838, with twenty-six per- 
sons on board, not one of whom was left to describe the 
circumstances of the lamentable catastrophe; and of the 
United States' ship Peacock, which was lost on the north 
sand-bar, but a little distance from where we lay. But 
an ever watchful Providence interposed in our behalf ; 
the wind lulled about daylight, and hauled around a few 
points; the sea became measurably pacified, and at sun- 
rise we stood back for Baker's Bay, where we again let 
go our anchor, to await a more propitious time for 
embarkation. 

We had not to wait long, for on the 3d day of Febru- 
ary, the mouth of the river being exceedingly smooth, 
and the wind from the north-east, Captain Humphries 
and myself went once more to the top of Cape Disap- 
pointment to take a view of the fearful bar, .and pro- 
nouncing it passable, at one o'clock, we weighed anchor, 
and spreading our sails to the breeze, passed beautifully 
and majestically over the spot where two days before 
our gallant barque would have been driven to the bottom 
by one break of the rolHng surge. 

A voyage of twenty-four days, during which we 
experienced a succession of violent gales unusual on this 
part of the ocean, brought us in sight of the island of 
Mauie, which we first saw forty miles distant at two, p. 
M., of the 26th of February. At five we made the 
island of Oahu, and though during the day we had been 
sailing before a reefed topsail breeze, when we came up 
with the north end of the island, the wind suddenly fell, 
and we found ourselves plunging and rolling over an 
exceedingly heavy swell occasioned by a strong south 
wind, which for some time had prevailed in the vicinity 
of the islands. During the night we were drifted some 



202 HOMEWARD BOUND. 

distance towards the island of Oahu and began to fear 
lest we might be driven ashore, and the absence of wind 
prove more destructive than the gales we had expe- 
rienced. In the morning, however, the regular trade set 
in, and as it was a fair wind, we were carried quickly 
past Diamond Hill, when the city of Honolulu presented 
itself to our view. A white flag was raised to the top 
of the mast to announce that no epidemic prevailed 
among us, and soon after, we were boarded by an old 
pilot, who, taking the ship in charge, conducted us along 
the narrow zig-zag channel leading through the Coral 
Reef which, with this exception, surrounds the island of 
Oahu, and bringing the vessel up within a few rods of 
land, gave orders to *' let go the anchor." 

We found a variety of shipping in the harbor, Ameri- 
can, EngHsh, French, Spanish and some others. 

The Dublin line of battle ship lay in the roads the 
night previous to our arrival, but so violent was the 
motion of the vessel in consequence of the tremendous 
swell that rolled in from the south, that she parted both 
her cables, and it was with the utmost difficulty that she 
was prevented from driving on the coral reef. A timely 
breeze enabled her to remove from her dangerous prox- 
imity to land, and after laying off" and on until the swell 
subsided, she finally came again to anchor in her former 
position. The Dublin was the flag ship of a small Eng- 
lish fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Thomas, 
the hero of the Chinese war, who had been sent from 
China by the British government to settle the difficulties 
occasioned by the outrageous conduct of Lord George 
Paulet in capturing the Sandwich Islands, and to restore 
them back to his Hawaiian majesty. 

Soon after we came to anchor, Dr. J. L. Babcock, of 
the Oregon mission, who had been on the island for some 
months with his family, for the benefit of their health, 
came on board, and invited us ashore. They were stop- 
ping at the house of John Colcord, where, for the time 
being, we also took up our abode. 
/'' Immediately after landing, we learned from Dr. Bab- 
cock that news had arrived from the islands that Rev. 



HOMEWARD SOUND. 203 

George Gary had been appointed to supersede Rev. 
Jason Lee in the superintendency of the Oregon Mis- 
sion, and was expected at the islands on his way to 
Oregon, in a few weeks. This information caused us to 
hesitate whether to proceed, if we had an opportunity, 
or remain until Mr. Gary's arrival. Inquiring whether 
there would be any opportunity soon to take passage to 
the States, we ascertained that, in all probability, no 
vessel would leave the islands for that destination under 
several months ; but that a small schooner belonging to 
the Ha.waiian Government, called the "Hoa Tita," 
would sail the next day for Mazatlan, on the coast of 
Mexico. Mr. Lee and myself proceeded directly to 
the consul to ascertain whether it would be possible to 
procure a passage to the coast, but found that one only 
could be accommodated on the small craft, and that it 
would not be practicable to take a family across the 
continent. Thus baffled in our purposes to proceed 
together to the United States, we held a council in 
which Dr. Babcock participated, and came to the con- 
clusion that, under the circumstances it was our duty to 
separate; Mr. Lee to take the ''HoaTita" to Mazatlan, 
thence take the route through Mexico to Vera Cruz, 
and thence to New York, and myself and family to take 
the brig Chenamus, which would be ready to sail in a 
few weeks, and return to Oregon. 

With reference to Mr. Lee, no time was to be lost in 
preparing for his embarkation, but with the assistance 
of the acting consul, Wm. Hooper, Esq., and Mr. Ladd, 
everything was soon made ready. Now came one of 
the severe trials of missionary life. Mr. Lee had buried 
his second wife in Oregon, and was left with a tender 
infant, a little girl of three weeks old. Mrs. Hines 
received the child from the bed of death to take care of 
it so long as Mr. Lee should desire, and after the burial 
of its mother he also came to reside in our family. Mr. 
Lee looked upon this his only child, as his earthly all, 
and no personal consideration would have induced him 
to leave her in the care of others, on an island in the 
Pacific ocean, and perform a hazardous journey to the 



204 HOMEWARD BOUND. 

other side of the globe, with but little prospect of ever 
again beholding his beloved daughter. 

But with a heart as affectionate as ever beat in the 
breast of a man, Mr. Lee never allowed his personal 
feelings to control his conduct, when they opposed 
themselves to the calls of duty. In his opinion it was 
the voice of duty that called him to tear himself away 
from all he held dear upon the earth and return to his 
native land. Accordingly, at three o'clock, p. m., of the 
28th of February, after tenderly committing his mother- 
less child to the care of the writer and his companion, 
he was conducted to the " Hoa Tita," which lay at the 
wharf, and which, with a fair wind, was soon wafted 
from the shores of Oahu towards the Mexican coast. 

On the 2d day of March, Rear Admiral Thomas, 
having accomplished his mission to the Hawaiians to the 
entire satisfaction of both natives and foreigners, took 
his leave of Oahu, and amidst the roar of cannon which 
saluted him from the fort and from the ships of war in 
the harbor, he steered his course for the Society Islands. 
The following day his majesty Kamahamaha III, arrived 
at Honolulu from Maui, where he has resided for some 
time. 

Though it was the Sabbath, yet he was saluted with 
many guns as his crown flag was seen flying at the 
entrance of the harbor. He is now to take up his resi- 
dence in the city of Honolulu. 

In the evening of the 7th of March, the bells of the 
churches and of the ships in the harbor, rung an alarm, 
and the whole city seemed at once in an uproar. The 
cry of fire was heard in every direction, and as no fire 
could be seen from where we were, I concluded that it 
must be in some ship in the harbor. I accordingly ran 
down to the wharf, and found that the brig Chenamus 
was indeed on fire in her hold, and no one could tell to 
what extent. A report was at once circulated that she 
had on board a vast quantity of powder, some said three 
hundred barrels. This alarmed many exceedingly, and 
but few would go down to the wharf for fear the vessel 
would blow up immediately. The utmost confusion and 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 205 

disorder prevailed until Captain Couch, who was absent 
from the ship when the fire was first discovered, arrived. 
He immediately corrected the mistake in reference to 
the amount of powder, and also informed the people 
concerning the probable position of the fire, which he 
supposed to be in the lower hold forward of the main- 
mast, and as the powder was in the after run, the 
danger was not so imminent as had been supposed. 
The fire, however, had so far progressed that it was 
considered exceedingly dangerous to take off the hatches 
for fear it would break forth, and destroy not only the 
ship itself, but also the other ships lying near. The 
hatches had become hot, and the quarter-deck, as far 
back as the companion-way, was too warm to stand 
upon, when the captain gave orders to scuttle her. 
Three holes were accordingly made in her hull, and 
when the captain left her deck there were already 
several feet of water in her hold. She continued filling 
and sinking until morning, when her upper deck was 
level with the water. Soon after daylight divers were 
procured to go down and stop up the scuttle holes, and 
cork up the cabin windows, to prepare for pumping her 
out. Thirty-six hours' labor of fifty men, sufficed to 
get the water all out, and as soon as possible the cargo 
was on the wharf, when it was ascertained that the 
ship had received but little or no damage from the fire, 
and but a small portion of the cargo had been injured 
except by the water. The fire had been principally 
confined to some fanning-mills, which were stored under 
the main hatchway. On the Monday following, the 
damaged goods were sold at auction for the benefit of 
the underwriters, and the captain went about repairing 
his vessel in order to proceed on his voyage to the 
Columbia River. The Chenamus is a fine brig, built 
expressly for the Pacific trade, and owned by Captain 
Cushing, the father of the Hon. Caleb Cushing, the pre- 
sent minister from the United States to China. He has 
established a commercial house in Oregon, and carries 
on an extensive trade with the settlers in that new and 
rsing country. 



206 HOMEWARD BOUND. 

In consequence of the unfortunate accident to the 
Chenamus, we were detained for five weeks, during 
which we had an opportunity of extending our observa- 
tions on the missions, government, commerce, (fee, of 
the Sandwich Islands. 



CHAPTER XI. 



View of the Sanawich Islands — How formed — Volcano — Coral Reels — Names of 
Islands — When discovered — Singular tradition — Cook's death — Population — 
Previous condition — Long and bloody war — Results — Missionary statistics — 
Effects of Missionary labor — Seaman's Chaplaincy — Romanism — Kamaham- 
ha III — Reformation — Singular custom — School for young chiefs — Influence 
of Missionaries — The King's Cabinet — Important history of two hundred and 
seventy-six days — Increase of Cabinet — Paper King — Protection — Commerce — 
Whale Fishery — Productions — Society — Temperance — Destination of the 



The Sandwich Islands, in common with a vast number 
of others in the Pacific Ocean, have doubtless been formed 
by volcanic action, in connexion with the operations of 
the coral worm. Doubts may reasonably be indulged 
in relation to the causes which have produced the present 
form of many other portions of the globe, but there can 
be none concerning the manner in which the Sandwich 
Islands first emerged from the bosom of the deep. That 
they have been thrown up by volcanic eruptions is 
evident, from the numerous old craters which appear on 
all parts of the islands; from the vast quantities of con- 
gealed lava every where observable; from the nature of 
the soil, it being nothing more nor less than decomposed 
lava, and from the present existence of an active vol- 
cano on the principal island of the group. This burning 
mountain, known by the name of the volcano of Kilawea, 
is situated on the island of Hawaii, or Owyhee, as it was 
formerly called; and from its continued action in casting 
up immense quantities of lava, stones, and dirt, which in 
some instances have been known to roll down the sides 
of the mountain in such vast quantities, as, in their pro- 
gress, to fill up the deep ravines washed in the sides of 
the mountain, and sometimes to bury up the cottages of 
the natives with their occupants, and extending quite to 



208 SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

the ocean, enlarging even the island itself, must be 
viewed as disclosing the principal cause of the formation 
of this interesting collection of the Pacific Isles. Though 
the crater of this mountain is the only flue now open 
through which the subteranean fires discharge them- 
selves, yet doubtless all the old craters have, in their 
turn, served the same purpose; and from their appear- 
ance one is led to suppose that many of them may have 
been in action at the same time. 

There are different opinions entertained concerning 
the formation and continued enlargement of the coral 
reefs by which all the islands are surrounded. The 
prevailing opinion is that they owe their origin to the 
constant action of what is called " the coral worm." 
Though it appears evident that the above mentioned two 
causes have produced the Sandwich Islands, yet, after 
all, perhaps these are mere speculations, and they may 
have existed nearly in their present form since the period 
when the waters of the deluge were gathered to their 
original bed, and the ark rested on Mount Ararat. 

Be this as it may, there are ten of these isolated spots 
of earth embraced in the group known by the name of 
the Sandwich Islands. They are distinguished by the 
names of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kawai, Molokai, Lanai, 
Niihau and Kahoolame. The two I have not mentioned 
are of no note, being small and barren, and containing 
no permanent inhabitants. 

The existence of these islands first became known to 
the civilized world in 1778. Captain James Cook, the 
celebrated English navigator, is entitled to the credit of 
the first discovery of this interesting group, to which he 
gave their present name, in honor of Lord Sandwich, 
his principal friend and patron in the British government. 
He was on one of his voyages to the north-west coast of 
the American continent, for the purpose of searching for 
a north-west passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic 
ocean, when he fell in with these islands. On a subse- 
quent visit to them, it is generally known that he fell a 
victim to the barbarity of the savages, the existence of 
whom he had revealed to the world. When Captain 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 209 

Cook first arrived at the islands, he was received by the 
natives with great veneration as a supreme being. This, 
in part, arose from the following singular tradition. The 
Hawaiians have, from time immemorial, entertained a 
belief in a deity, or goddess, which they called Pele. 
She, they believed, had the control of the volcano of 
Kilawea. 

Lono, one of the chiefs, was the friend of Pelcj but 
when once he happened to insult her, she was angry and 
began to pursue him. He fled in great terror, and pass- 
ing his home in his flight, he cried, " Aloha, Aloha," to 
his wife and children, but could not stop, for Pele was 
near in pursuit. Shortly he came to the shore where 
he found a man just landing in a fishing canoe, and, to 
escape the vengeance of Pele, he immediately siezed the 
canoe and pushed out to sea. When Captain Cook first 
arrived he forthwith received the name of Lono, the 
people supposing him to be the same personage who had 
left in a canoe, now returned in a much larger vessel. 
But the reverence which they manifested for Cook did 
not long continue. From an unrestrained intercourse 
with them, they found him to be a man like themselves; 
and conceiving a strong dislike for him on account of 
some supposed injuries which he and his men had inflic- 
ted upon them, they resolved upon his distruction, and 
accordingly he fell beneath the weight of a Hawaiian 
club, near the village of Kadmaloa, on the shore of 
Kaalakekua Bay, and on the island of Hawaii. A stick 
of cocoa set up in the fissure of the rocks a few feet 
from the water's edge, marks the place where the gallant 
navigator met his untimely fate. 

The population of the Islands, when first discovered, 
as estimated by Captain Cook, was four hundred thousand. 
If this was a correct estimate, during the forty-fiv^e 
years following Cook's discovery, we find a decrease in 
the population of two hundred and fifty-seven thousand 
nine hundred and fifty; for in 1823 we find a population 
of only one hundred and forty-two thousand and fifty. 
A census was taken in 1832, and it was found that the 
decrease for the nine previous years amounted to eleven 
9* 



210 SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven, leaving a pop- 
ulation at that time of one hundred and thirty thousand 
three hundred and thirteen. Another census was taken 
in 1836, which revealed the astonishing decrease of 
twenty-one thousand seven hundred and thirty in four 
years. One of the missionaries, the Rev. W. P. Alex- 
ander, in 1838, calculated that there were annually, in 
all the islands, six thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
eight deaths, and only three thousand three hundred and 
thirty-five births. I have frequently conversed with 
missionaries who have been for many years upon the 
islands, and they all agree in stating that the yearly 
deaths at the present time bear about the proportion to 
the yearly births of seven to three; and that only about 
one-half of the marriages lead to offspring. Allowing 
that there has been twenty thousand decrease from 1836 
to 1846, and it will not fall short of this, there is now a 
population of eighty-eight thousand five hundred and 
seventy-nine. This brings us to the lamentable result, 
that since the discovery of the island in 1778 there has 
been an average annual decrease of four thousand five 
hundred and eighty. The astonishing rapidity of the 
decrease of Hawaiian population, is, perhaps, without a 
parallel in the history of nations, not excepting the ill- 
fated Indians of North America. 

In beholding the downward career of the Hawaiians 
in respect to population, one is led to inquire for the 
causes which have produced these astonishing results. 
These are numerous, and among the principal are the 
sweeping pestilence which raged with singular fatality 
during the years 1803 and 1804, the destructive wars of 
Kamehameha the first, and the almost universal preva- 
lence, and uncontrolled progress of a disease said to have 
been introduced by the vicious crew belonging to the 
vessel of Captain Cook, and as fatal in its ravages, as it 
is loathsome to contemplate. The laxity of native mor- 
als, which has always existed among the Hawaiians, is a 
sufficient cause why this disease should prevail among 
them to an unusual extent; and this very cause adds to 
the effect of the disease in preventing offspring. Hitherto 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 211 

all the efforts of the missionaries and the medical 
men in the islands to stop the ravages of the disease, 
have been ineffectual, and it is extremely doubtful 
whether any means can be devised sufficient to roll back 
the tide of death which threatens the destruction of the 
Hawaiian nation. 

Great changes had taken place in the political and 
religious history of the Hawaiian nation previous to the 
arrival of the first missionaries. Many of these resul- 
ted from the free intercourse of the people of other 
nations with the islanders, so soon as their existence be- 
came known to the civilized world. When they were 
first discovered, the islands were governed by a number 
of independent chiefs, and all the people were held under 
the iron control of a system of idolatry, called the Tabu 
system. After a few years' intercourse with foreigners, 
beholding their vast superiority over themselves, arising, 
as they supposed, from the difference of their religion, 
there arose a party among the natives who rejected their 
ancient Tabu, and embraced in theory so far as they 
understood it, the religion of the foreigners. At first 
this party was small, but continuing to increase, it at 
length embraced nearly one half of the nation. Kame- 
hameha was the first chief to declare himself openly 
against the Tabu system. At that time he was a petty 
chief, controlling but a small portion of the island of 
Hawaii. But being more enlightened than his country- 
men, and withal ambitious and enterprising in his habits, 
he resolved to attempt the accomplishment of a revolu- 
tion in both the government and religion of his country. 
But the cruel system of idolatry against which Kame- 
hameha had arrayed himself, strengthened as it was by 
ages of uninterrupted growth, was not to be destroyed 
without a powerful struggle, its friends and supporters 
still being more numerous than its enemies. The most 
violent enmity had grown up betwixt the two parties, 
and at length Kamehameha found himself involved in 
the most bloody war. All the principal chiefs were upon 
the side of the Tabu, and it became necessary for Kama- 



212 SAiN'DWlCll IfiLANDS. 

hameha to fight them successively. He first turned his 
attention to the subjugation of his own native island of 
Hawaii, and meeting the chiefs with their forces in battle, 
his own superior skill and prowess prevailed, and he soon 
found the island of Hawaii, containing then more than 
one hundred thousand inhabitants, prostrate at his feet. 
Here establishing his authority by the wise use of every 
necessary precaution, he prepared for the invasion of 
the other islands. He met the adherents of the Tabu 
on the islands of Maui, Kauai, Lanai, and Morokai, in 
battle, and in every instance triumphed over them. 
Those of his enemies who escaped took refuge on the 
island of Oahu. Here an army of men as large as that 
which Kamehameha had drawn to his standard, had col- 
lected, and resolved to make one more desperate stand, 
to support their favorite Tabu. At length the conquer- 
ing chief eflfected a landing on the island of Oahu, and 
the opposing forces met in the rear of the city of Hono- 
lulu, and fought the last and bloodiest battle of the whole 
war. The victory of Kamehameha was complete, his 
enemies were annihilated, and he was forthwith pro- 
claimed king of the Hawaiian nation. 

Providing for the government of Oahu, Kamehameha 
returned to Kailue on his native island, and in a pro- 
clamation to the nation announced that the old Tabu 
system was at an end. Thus fell idolatry on the Sand- 
wich Islands, and thus all the group were connected 
together under one government. At the head stood the 
victorious chieftain who had effected the revolution, 
under the title of King Kamehameha the First. 

It was in this condition that the first missionaries found 
the islands on their arrival. Providence had prepared 
the way for them in the destruction of the bloody sys- 
tem of idolatry which had reigned over the islands for 
ages, and accordingly the first news that saluted them 
on approaching Hawaii, was, " Kamehameha is king, 
and the Tabu is destroyed." 

It was on the 4th day of April, 1820, that the brig 
Thaddeus, from Boston, with seven male and seven 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 213 

female missionaries came to anchor in the bay of Kailua, 
and on the 8th the king and chiefs consented to their 
landing and residing on the island. 

Three years afterwards a reinforcement arrived, 
consisting of seven males, and six females. A second 
reinforcement of six males and ten females, arrived in 
the spring of 1828 ; a third, of four males and four 
females, in the spring of 1831 ; a fourth, of ten males 
and nine females, in the spring of 1832 ; a fifth, of two 
males and two females, in the spring of 1833 ; a sixth, 
of three males and five females, in the spring of 1835 ; 
a seventh, fifteen males and seventeen females, in the 
spring of 1837 ; an eighth, of four males and four 
females, in the spring of 1841. In January, 1842, one 
male and one female joined the mission at the islands 
from the Oregon Mission. A ninth reinforcement, of 
two males and two females, from the United States, 
arrived in September, 1842. This makes an aggregate 
of sixty-one males and sixty-seven females who have 
been employed on the mission since its first establish- 
ment twenty-six years ago. Of these a number have 
died, some have returned to the United States, some 
have become disconnected with the mission and remain 
at the islands, and others continue their labors as mis- 
sionaries in behalf of the Hawaiian race. 

The greatest number of laborers in the field at one 
time, has not exceeded about eighty adults, or forty 
families, and this has been near the average number for 
the last ten years. Of course, to sustain so large an 
establishment, the expenditures must have been very 
great. These have been incurred in supporting the 
missionaries, and providing them with dwellings ; in the 
printing and binding of books for the seminary and 
other public schools ; in the erection of churches and 
schoolhouses, and in the circulation of books. The 
entire amount expended, from the first estabhshment of 
the mission up to 1844, according to the report of the 
financial agent, amounted to six hundred and eight thou- 
sand, eight hundred and sixty-five dollars. Fifty thou- 
sand dotlars of this was furnished by the American Bible 



214 SANDWICH I8LANUS. 

Society ; nineteen thousand seven hundred and seventy- 
four dollars by the American Tract Society, and five 
hundred and thirty-nine thousand and ninety dollars by 
the A. B. C. F. M. 

Eighteen mission stations have been estabhshed, and 
continue to be occupied ; six on Hawaii, four on Maui, 
four on Oahu, three on Kauai, and one on Morokai. In 
addition to two printing offices and a bindery, a commo- 
modious seminary, school-houses, and churches, forty 
permanent dwelling-houses have been erected for the 
accommodation of the missionaries, that in appearance 
would not disgrace any of the villages of Western New 
York. 

The results of all this immense labor and expense are 
sufficient to establish in every reflecting mind, the utiUty 
of christian missions. The great object held in view in 
the missionary enterprise, is the conversion of the hea- 
then to the Lord Jesus Christ, and their final salvation 
in the kingdom of heaven. As it regards the first, by 
missionary eflfort, Christianity has been introduced into 
the Sandwich Islands, and adopted as the religious sys- 
tem of the nation. Twenty-three christian churches 
have been gathered, and embraced, on the first of April, 
1843, twenty-three thousand eight hundred and four 
members in regular standing. In addition to this, the 
Hawaiian language has been systematized and reduced 
to writing ; fifty thousand copies of the New Testament 
and twenty thousand of the Old Testament have issued 
from the Hawaiian press ; seventy different works, 
scientifical, historical, and religious, have been translated 
and published ; one-half of the adult population have 
been taught to read, and nearly all of the children of 
the islands, are now gathered into the schools. A mis- 
sion seminary where the higher branches are taught, 
has been in operation for years, and usually numbers 
about one hundred and thirty students. A female semi- 
nary of a similar character numbers about eighty pupils. 
These are on the island of Maui. A boarding school 
for boys numbering sixty scholars, and one for girls of 
about twenty-five, are in operation on Hawaii. A 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 216 

boarding school for the young chiefs, and a number of 
select schools at the various stations throughout the 
islands, and under the care of gentlemen and ladies be- 
longing to the mission. Reading, writing, geography, 
arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, trigonometry, mensu- 
ration, surveying, navigation, algebra, history, phyloso- 
phy, &c., are taught in these schools, some of which 
are already beginning to rank with the academies of 
New England. 

These are some of the direct benefits resulting from 
missionary efforts, as they exhibit themselves on the 
Sandwich Islands ; and in viewing them we can form 
some conception of the value of those efforts which 
have accomplished this work, considered with respect to 
time. But who can estimate the value of a soul, the 
redemption of which cost the infinite price of a Re- 
deemer's blood 1 When I take a view of the small 
amount of money and labor expended, the little suffering 
endured, and the few lives sacrificed in the missionary 
cause, and connect them as instrumentahties with the 
eternal salvation of souls as the object, I am led to 
exclaim, my God ! how trifling are the means used in 
comparison to the great end accompHshed ! And yet 
thousands from the Sandwich Islands will share in the 
blessedness of the first resurrection, because these in- 
strumentalities have been used in their behalf, and the 
Divine blessing has accompanied the efforts which have 
been made. 

In addition to the results of these efforts, as already 
stated, it may be proper to remark that the government 
has assumed a much more stable and consistent charac- 
ter than it formerly possessed. Written laws have been 
enacted by which the people are better secured from 
oppressive exactions on the part of their rulers, and 
encouraged to cultivate industrious and virtuous habits. 
The security, stability, and value of property have been 
greatly enhanced. Diplomatic intercourse has been 
opened with other and greater nations, among w^hich 
are England, the United States, and Prance, all of which 
have acknowledged the independence of the islands, and 



216- SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

express an interest in their prosperity. Indeed, a great 
change for the better has taken place, and, though it is 
true that, still Hawaiian society is in a very crude state, 
and is susceptible of vast improvement, it is not the less 
true that the w^onderful change through w^hich it has 
passed since the cross was first planted upon the islands, 
is without parallel in the history of ancient or modern 
times. 

There are few subjects presenting themselves to the 
visitor at the islands, more interesting than the Seaman's 
Chaplaincy, at Honolulu. The fact that the American 
Seaman's Friend Society, in addition to many other 
places in the world, have directed their pious benevo- 
lence to the greatest seaport of the Sandw^ich Islands, 
should be regarded as evidence of the importance of 
the place as well as of the discrimination of the mana- 
gers of that society. They have here erected a chapel 
on a most eligible site, which is conveniently fitted up 
to accommodate two or three hundred hearers. In the 
basement there is a depository for Bibles and Tracts, 
which may here be found in English, German, French, 
Danish, and most other European languages, and are 
carefully and liberally distributed. The Bethel Flag 
floats from a staff elevated from the top of the steeple, 
inviting the mariner to the house of prayer. Public 
worship is performed every Sunday morning and even- 
ing ; there is a meeting every Thursday evening for 
prayer and religious conference, and a monthly seamen's 
concert for prayer ; both held in the vestry, and well 
attended. The chaplain also invites all seamen to his 
private residence, where he instructs, advises, reproves, 
and exhorts, as occasion may require, and distributes 
Bibles, Tracts, &c., to those who attend, with great 
assiduity, as they are received with many thanks by the 
sailors, and open sources of unspeakable consolation to 
many of them, while prosecuting their hazardous em- 
ployment. 

The society has been peculiarly fortunate in their 
choice of chaplains for this important post. The present 
incumbent is the Rev. Samuel C. Damon, who has 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 217 

officiated since the death of his predecessor, the Rev. 
John Diell. Mr. Damon is well qualified for the place 
he is called to fill, and his performances in the pulpit 
are alike creditable to himself as a clergyman and man 
of letters, and well adapted to the varied circumstances 
of his hearers. His audience is frequently composed of 
English lords and knights, consuls and consul generals, 
admirals and rear admirals, the king of the islands and 
his suite, the ardent votaries of wealth in the character 
of merchants and sea captains, naval officers of different 
nations, common seamen and Kanakas. His subjects 
are well chosen to arrest the attention of all these, nor 
does he shun to declare unto them all the counsel of God. 
In addition to his ordinary labors as chaplain, which 
alone are very arduous, he is the editor of a very inte- 
resting and useful paper called '^ The Friend of Tempe- 
rance and Seamen." About four hundred seamen 
annually visit him at his study, to receive religious 
instruction, and advice. From a consideration of these 
facts, I am led fully to the conclusion that the seaman's 
chaplaincy at Honolulu is every way worthy to be 
sustained. 

Since the French compelled the Hawaiians to receive 
with their brandy, Roman Catholic missionaries, Catholic- 
ism has been making rapid advances among the natives, 
and thereby presenting a great obstacle in the way of 
the final success of the Protestant missionaries. Ac- 
cording to the best information I could obtain, there 
w^ere nine Catholic priests on the islands, and the bap- 
tized members of the church amounted in all to about 
twelve thousand five hundred, besides those who were 
under preparatory training. 

They have one hundred schools established, containing 
upwards of three thousand scholars. These are under 
the direction of priests, sisters of charity, and native 
teachers. The catholic cathedral is by far the most 
sightly looking church in Honolulu, and is under the 
charge of the Rev. the Abbe Maigret, of the Society of 
Peipus, in Paris. In connection with the cathedral 
there is a school of three hundred scholars, of both 



218 SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

sexes, under the superintendence of the Abbe himself, 
whose services are without charge to those who belong 
to his communion. Some time in 1842 a vessel sailed 
from France, containing a bishop for the islands, seven 
priests, and twelve sisters of charity ; but she has nevei 
been heard of since she left the coast of Brazil, and is 
supposed to have been lost in the vicinity of Cape 
Horn. 

King Kamehameha III. and his small court have for 
several years resided chiefly at Lahaira, in the island of 
Maui, but in June, 1844, they removed their residences 
to the city of Honolulu, on the Island Oahu. At this 
place a palace has been recently erected in a conspicuous 
part of the city, and when the public grounds surround- 
ing it are properly improved and ornamented, will pre- 
sent an imposing appearance, and constitute a suitable 
residence for the royal family. 

Until recently, it has been extremely doubtful whethei 
the Hawaiian government would continue in existence 
for any length of time, but now his majesty Kameham- 
eha III, is recognized as belonging to the family of 
independent sovereigns, and efforts are being made by 
his ministers to place his court, and organize his tribunals 
on a footing corresponding with his present situation. 
As the ministers of the king are principally Americans, 
and of course unaccustomed to the forms of ceremony 
observed in royal palaces, it may be expected that the 
code of court etiquette which they have adopted, may 
be somewhat defective. If by some strange metamor- 
phosis, a republican is transformed into an aristocrat, he 
generally surrounds' himself v/ith an excess of cere- 
mony, and on this ground fault has been found with the 
code of etiquette which the ministers of Kamehameha 
III. have thrown around the court. Formerly the king 
was approachable on all occasions, and by every body ; 
now a routine of ceremony must be observed before 
even a sea captain can gain an audience. This is pecu- 
liarly trying to those English and American residents 
who have formerly had free access to the royal presence. 
Though this privilege is now denied the people generally, 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 219 

yet, on proper application being previously made, the 
representatives of foreign powers, are, at all times, 
admitted to a personal interview with the king, for the 
purpose of submitting to his majesty any case of well 
founded grievance which any of their countrymen may 
have against the authorities of the land. 

The character of the king since he came to the throne, 
has undergone a very great change. Formerly he was 
adicted to low and degrading vices, among which intem- 
perance was one of the most prominent, but some ten or 
twelve years ago, a thorough reformation took place in his 
majesty, and he is now not only a consistent temperance 
man, but also a member of the church of Christ. Though 
there are a few individuals at Honolulu who are disposed 
to censure, and find fault with everything and everybody 
in the islands, yet none seem inclined to complain of his 
majesty Kamehameha III. The general testimony is 
favorable to the goodness of his disposition, the upright- 
ness of his intentions, and his clemency and kindness to 
his subjects. None accuse him of cruelty or tyranny, 
and many, qualified to judge, concur in ascribing to him 
considerable native talent, and much acquired informa- 
tion. His majesty is an example of sobriety to his sub- 
jects, regular in his attendance at church, and zealous in 
the discouragement of all Pagan rites, and the establish- 
ment of the Christian religion in the nation. 

He is now thirty-three years of age, and was married 
in 1837 to Kalama, by whom he has no offspring. In 
the probable event of his having no lineal successor, the 
crown will devolve on Alexander Liholiho, whom the 
king has adopted for that purpose. He is an active and 
promising lad, now in the twefth year of his age. 

A very singular custom prevails in the Hawaiian 
monarchy of appointing a female prime minister of the 
kingdom. It is said this custom originated in the will of 
Kamehameha I, which declared his son Liholiho his 
successor in the throne, but that Kaahumanu, his favorite 
queen, should be his minister. The present premier is 
Kekauluohi, who is about fifty years of age, very digni- 
led in her appearance, and much respected by all classes. 



220 SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

Her prerogatives are nearly equal to those of the king, 
and whatever she does in the realm, is to be considered 
as executed by his authority; but the king has a veto on 
her acts, while, on the other hand, his own are not bind- 
ing unless approved of by her. She has an interesting son, 
William Charles Lunalilo, about twelve years of age, 
but his sex disqualifies him from being her successor; 
consequently, Victoria Kamamalu, who is eight years of 
age, is the reputed heir to the premiership. 

Alexander and Victoria are both the children of 
Kekuanaoa, the present governor of Oahu, by Kaahu- 
mana the former premier of the kingdom. These chil- 
dren, with all the other young chiefs of the realm, are 
under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, who are mem- 
bers of the mission, and who spare no pains to fit them, 
through a proper education and training, for the high 
functions which they are destined to fill. To the mis- 
sionaries belongs the merit of having excited the king 
and chiefs of the islands to desire a school for the sys- 
tematic education of those children into whose hands 
would fall the future destiny of the government. By 
the request and .concurrence of the king and chiefs, in 
1839, Mr. and Mrs. Cooke were selected by the mission 
as suitable persons to undertake the education of the 
young chiefs. The building occupied by this school of 
the chiefs, is situated in a retired part of the city of 
Honolulu, and, though it cost but two thousand dollars, 
being constructed of sun-dried adobes, is commodiously 
arranged to secure the purposes of its construction. It 
contains seventeen rooms in all, of various dimensions, 
opening into a court in the centre thirty-six feet square, 
the outside of the building being seventy-six feet square. 
The school room is very conveniently arranged, and 
books, maps, stationery, and globes terrestrial and celes- 
tial, are at all times accessible to the scholars, and there 
is also an excellent apparatus to illustrate the movements 
of the planets which compose our solar system. The 
scholars are fifteen in number, seven males and eight 
females, and each of them has from two to six native 
attendants in the character of grooms, tailors, washers. 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 221 

&c., according to the rank, age, and sex of each. These 
attendants are all under the direction of John Li and his 
wife, who are both very respectable natives, and who 
co-operate with Mr. and Mrs. Cooke in excluding these 
attendants from any intimacy with the young chiefs 
which might prove prejudicial to their welfare. Reading, 
writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography, history, draw- 
ing, music, vocal and instrumental, are the principal 
branches of education which these -future rulers of the 
islands are receiving at the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Cooke. 
These interesting youth, in every department of educa- 
tion, show a tractability quite equal to any other children 
of the same ages, and under similar circumstances; and 
it is quite evident that, under the excellent government 
and tuition of Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, these young chiefs 
will be prepared to go forth into the world and fill their 
respective stations, with a fund of knowledge vastly 
superior to that of their predecessors; and it is equally 
obvious, that the administration of these future rulers, 
must be immeasurably more enlightened than any that 
has ever before existed in the islands. Yet the tongue 
of calumny has represented the appointment of Mr. and 
Mrs. Cooke to their responsible station, as a measure 
having no higher object, than the selfish policy of priest- 
craft. 

As might be expected, the missionaries, from the posi- 
tion they have occupied, have exerted a controlling 
influence in the councils of the Hawaiian government, 
for many years, but the first appointment from among 
them to any office in the government was that of the 
Rev. William Richards in 1838 to the office of teacher 
or counsellor of the chiefs. This appointment was made 
in aocordance with a request of the king and chiefs, and 
accepted by Mr. Richards at first, but for one year. 
Subsequently he received a higher appointment, and 
filling the different offices of privy counsellor, secretary 
of state, and embassador to a foreign court, he has been 
one of the principal actors in the government since his 
first appointment. 

Anotlkcr appointment to a responsible office in the 



222 SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

government took place from among the missionaries in 
1842, which became a matter of much serious contro- 
versy in the islands, and perhaps of some willful misre- 
presentation. This was that of Dr. Gerritt P. Judd. This 
gentleman was solicited by the king to accept of the 
office of interpreter, and giving up his connexion with 
the mission, he identified himself with the Hawaiian 
government. Some of the foreign residents, and partic- 
ularly the English, took occasion from this, to charge 
upon the missionaries a disposition to domineer over the 
king and people for the benefit of themselves and of 
the American residents. If it was necessary to appoint 
a foreigner to this office, doubtless Dr. Judd, from his 
thorough knowledge of the native language and charac- 
ter, was as well qualified as any man; and from his hav- 
ing voluntarily officiated, and possessing a high reputa- 
tion among the natives, it was natural that the choice of 
the king should fall on him. In his new functions, the 
Doctor appears to have given great satisfaction, at least 
to the king, for during the troubles of the government 
with the English, he was appointed by the king to rep- 
resent his person, and after the restoration of the islands 
from British rule, he was elevated to the high and respon- 
sible office of secretary of state for foreign affairs. 

A third appointment from among the missionaries took 
place in 1845. This was that of the Rev. Mr. Andrews 
to the office of supreme judge. As these three appoint- 
ments were made from among themselves through the 
influence of the missionaries, it has been charged upon 
them by the enemies of the mission, that, forgetting their 
appropriate calling, they had used the extensive influ- 
ence they had acquired in the nation to arrogate to them- 
selves all the important offices of state, and the emolu- 
ments arising from such offices. But, as it is the business 
of the journalist to state facts, and neither to condemn 
nor attempt a justification of the important transactions 
narrated, it will not be expected that I shall appear on 
either side of the unhappy controversy which has proved 
the source of so much disquietude to the foreign residents 
on the Sandwich Islands. • 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 223 

In accepting the reins of government, when proffered 
to them, doubtless the missionaries acted under the influ- 
ence of a justifiable fear for the safety of the Protestant 
faith, which they had been instrumental in establishing 
in the islands; and it was natural for them to prefer a 
Christian Protestant to either an immoral or a Catholic 
domination. 

The history of the Sandwich Island gOA^ernment during 
the short space of two hundred and seventy-six days, in 
1843, presents three of the most remarkable and impor- 
tant events that ever transpired in a nation, in the same 
length of time. 

The first was the cession of the islands, by his majesty 
Kamahamaha and the Premier, on the 25th day of Feb- 
ruary, 1843, to the Right Hon. Lord George Paulet, 
on the part of her Britanic Majesty, Victoria, Queen 
of Great Britain and Ireland; the second was the restor- 
ation of the islands to their native sovereign, on the 31st 
of July, 1843, by Rear Admiral Thomas; and the third 
was the united declaration of Great Britain and France, 
dated on the 28th Nov., 1843, acknowledging the islands 
as an independent State, and mutually engaging never 
to take possession, neither directly nor under the title of 
protectorate, or under any other form, of any part of 
the territory of which they are composed. Kamehameha 
III. was driven to cede his sovereignty to Great Britain 
provisionally, in consequence of charges being preferred 
against him by British subjects which he was utterly 
unable to meet, and which in fact were founded in great 
injustice. Under the influence of wise counsel the king 
preferred to lay aside his crown rather than act a dis- 
graceful part by complying with the exorbitant demands 
of the British Lord, and await for the final decision of 
Great Britain to announce that the Hawaiian government 
had passed away, or that the crown was still on the 
brow of Kamehameha III. While the question of the 
life or death of the Hawaiian government was pending, 
the British ensign was waving over the islands, and the 
reins of government were siezed by Lord George Paulet 
in the name of her majesty, Queen Victoria. His Lord- 



224 SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

ship had the nonor of standing at the head of the govern- 
ment of the islands during one hundred and fifty-six 
days; but on the arrival of Rear Admiral Thomas, in 
the Collingw^ood line of battle ships, and the investigation 
of the grounds of the difficulty by the Admiral, the 
course pursued by Lord George was unceremoniously 
condemned, and the decision of the British government 
was anticipated by Rear Admiral Thomas. The king 
was restored to his just rights on the 31st of July, in a 
way calculated to preserve the respect due to royalty 
and restore confidence and good feeling among all the 
foreign residents. On the issuing of his proclamation, 
declaring that Kamehameha III. still reigned, Rear Ad- 
miral Thomas was hailed as the deliverer of the nation, 
and the people were as loud in his praises as they were 
vociferous in their reproaches of Lord George; and the 
31st of July was registered as a day to be observed as a 
national festival, to commemorate the restoration of 
Kamehameha to the throne of the Sandwich Islands, 
from which he had been unjustly driven. 

Since the settlement of these troubles and the acknow- 
ledgement of the independence of the islands by three 
great nations under an unusual engagement, the king 
appears to submit the government principally into the 
hands of his foreign ministers. The cabinet, with the 
exception of the premier, is composed of foreigners, 
three of whom were formerly members of the American 
mission, and two arrived at the islands as mere private 
gentlemen. One of them, John Ricord, Esq., was a 
young adventurer from New York, who crossed the 
continent by the way of St. Louis and the Rocky Moun- 
tains, and came down to Oregon in the fall of 1843, 
professing that his sole errand to the Pacific was to seek 
a fortune. Not finding it readily along the coast of the 
Pacific, he resolved to commit himself to its winds and 
waves. Confined in Baker's Bay by a succession of 
storms which lasted forty days and forty nights, he at 
length began to suspect that " Old Neptune " was suspi- 
cious that his motives for invading his dominions, were 
not of the purest kind; but finally his doubts of the 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 225 

favor of Neptune subsided, as the angry elements were 
hushed to silence, and the gentle breeze wafted him 
through the gateway across the bar of the Columbia 
Twenty-four days brought him along side of Oahu, the 
sight of which he hailed with transport, as he felt that 
confidence which is the harbinger of success. Remain 
ing in a voluntary quarantine for a day or two, in conse- 
quence of the dilapidated state of his wardrobe, which 
he found it necessary to repair before appearing in pub- 
lic, he at length received an introduction to some of the 
members of the cabinet as a quahfied member of the 
bar, from the Empire State. Possessing the advantages 
arising from a gentlemanly appearance, ready wit, and 
considerable suavity of manners, he succeeded immedi- 
ately in ingratiating himself into the good will of the 
members of the government, and on the ninth day after 
his arrival he took the oath of allegiance to Kamehameha 
III, and received the insignia of his appointment to the 
honorable and responsible office of Attorney General of 
the Sandwich Islands, with a salary of two thousand 
dollars per annum. 

The other was a vScotchman by the name of Robert 
Crichton Wyllie, who came to the islands in the company 
of General Miller, her Britanic Majesty's Consul General 
for the islands of the Pacific. Probably Mr. Wyllie 
owes his promotion to his present distinguished office to 
the interesting *' Notes" on the population, religion, 
agriculture and commerce of the islands, which he pub- 
lished soon after his arrival. In these notes the mission- 
aries are very highly commended, and some very wise 
suggestions are made concerning the future policy of the 
Sandwich Islands' government. 

The cabinet of Kamehameha III, at present stands as 
follows: Dr. G. P. Judd, Minister for the Interior, Rev. 
Mr. Richards, Privy Counsellor, Rev. Mr. Andrews, 
Supreme Judge, Hon. John Ricord, Attorney General, 
and Robert Crichton Wyllie, Secretary of State for 
Foreign Aflfairs. These five functionaries constitute the 
government of the Sandwich Islands, for every thing 
goes according to their direction. In all the great trans- 



226 SANDWICH I.SLANr>». 

actions of the nation in its intercourse with other nations^ 
and also in most of its internal affairs, the king in reaUty 
has no more power than one of his inferior chiefs. He 
says himself, that he is a mere " paper king," that his 
foreign ministers do the business, and bring him the 
papers to sign, and all he has to do is to obey them. In 
consequence of this apparent assumption of powder on 
the part of the foreigners connected with the government^ 
it has been charged upon them by some, that they are 
actuated by motives of selfish ambition; that they art- 
fully dupe the king and his native suite, by filling them 
with a sense of their own importance, w^hen in reahty 
they are mere cyphers, and in this way succeed in pro- 
moting their own aggrandizement. But the truth is 
that, with all the improvement the islanders have made,- 
they still remain grossly ignorant, especially on the great 
principles of government; and, so extensive is their inter- 
course with other nations, and so comphcated the business 
to be transacted, that the king finds it indispensibly ne- 
cessary to put the helm of government into the hands of 
enlightened foreigners; and thus far he has been pecu- 
liarly fortunate in the selections he has made, judging 
from the course which has been pursued. For w^hile his 
ministers have been careful to guard their own reputa- 
tion, they have acted as though they believed, that their 
success in this depended on their faithfulness in guarding 
the honor and interests of the king. 

As a matter of course, since the recognition of the 
Sandwich Islands as belonging to the great family of 
kingdoms, the ministers, and all the public functionaries 
are putting on much of the dignity and importance of 
royalty, but on some of them who have been altogether 
unaccustomed to such high honors as result from their 
offices, the garments of court etiquette hang but loosely; 
nevertheless they may be considered as skillful politicians 
if they steer the government ship so as to escape the 
Sylla on the one hand, and Charybdis on the other, to 
which she is continually exposed. Now that the three 
greatest naval powers on earth have entered into a 
mutual understanding never to take possession of the 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 227 

islands under any pretence whatever, the safety and 
perpetuity of the government depend upon the course 
which shall be pursued with other nations. So long as 
no just grounds of hostility are afforded, the engagement 
betwixt the three great powers would lead them to 
remonstrate effectively against any aggression w^iich 
might endanger the existence of the government. If 
the astonishing mortality which has prevailed so long 
among the natives, can by any means be checked, and 
the fountains of life be purified, so that children shall 
again be multiphed in the islands, and the decrease of 
numbers be effectually staid, then may we expect to see, 
in the future history of the Sandwich Islands, a satisfac- 
tory proof of the ability of the copper-colored race to 
govern themselves, and to become truly civilized. But 
if the tide of death shall continue to sweep on for fifty 
years to come, the Hawaiian nation will be numbered 
among the things that have been. 

In connection with this view of the government, it 
may be proper to consider their means of protection. 

Commanding the anchorage is a fort mounting seventy 
guns, varying in calibre from the long brass thirty-two 
pounder down to the four pounder. The fort is nearly 
a quadrangle, with the guns pointing on all sides, and 
consequently few in proportion, pointing to seaward. 
A small naval force would be sufficient to silence the 
guns of the fort, in a short period. As the fort affords 
no adequate means of protection from an attack by sea, 
the money laid out for its erection and the purchase of 
the guns mounted upon it, one of which cost the Hawai- 
ians the sum of ten thousand dollars, was very foolishly 
expended. So far as their being able to defend them- 
selves by this fort is concerned, they may as well melt 
down their hig guns and cast them into poi-pots as tc- 
'".ontinue the fort as it now is. It will probably soon bt 
demoHshed, and another one will be erected on the reef, 
seaward of the present one, which, under the direction 
of a skillful engineer, will serve a much better purpose. 

There is a remarkable hill in the rear of Honolulu 
which overlooks the city and harbor, called by the 



228 SANDWICH ISLANDS, 

natives Puawana, and by foreigners Punch Bowl Hill, 
The top of this hill is concave, the center of it being 
from forty to fifty feet low^er than the outer edge. It is 
one of those extinct volcanoes, whose former active 
operation is satisfactorily established, by the different 
strata of vitrified lava descending from the top of the 
hill on all sides, at the depth of from four to six feet 
from the surface of the soil. On the almost circular 
edge of this hill, on the side next the city, are planted 
eleven large guns, pointing different ways ; but lying on 
the ground, and being at too great a distance from the 
harbor, they are entirely useless as a means of defence. 
Of this the government are fully aware ; but they 
continue the guns in their present elevated position for 
the purpose of firing salutes on the king's birth-day, and 
on other great occasions. These being all the visible 
means of protection which the Hawaiians have, it is 
obvious that they will owe their safety, not so much to 
any martial array they can muster, whether on land or 
water, as to an impartial administration of justice to all 
nations with whom they have intercourse. 

The prosperity of the islands is entirely dependent on 
their commerce, and the annual visits of whalers and 
ships of war. The commerce of the port of Honolulu, 
in 1843, was as follows, viz : twenty-five American ves- 
sels, nine British, four French, one Spanish, and one 
German. During the same year the port was visited 
by one hundred and nine whalers, and ten ships of war. 
The merchant ships left goods to the amount of upwards 
of one hundred and fifty-six thousand dollars, and the 
whale ships to twenty-one thousand eight hundred dol- 
lars. It is estimated that the visit of every whaler is 
worth to the islands from eight to fifteen hundred dollars, 
and every ship of war considerably more. Besides the 
amount of vegetables, &c., sold to the various ships 
touching at the port, there, was exported, in 1843, in the 
produce of the islands, consisting of sugar, molasses, 
Kukui oil, bullock-hides, goat-skins, arrow-root, and 
mustard-seed, the amount of ninety-one thousand two 
hundred and forty-five dollars. 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 229 

The net revenue of the kingdom in the same year, 
embracing duties, harbor dues, 6z^c., amounted to fifty 
thousand dollars. But, as the islands depend mainly 
upon the whale ships that annually flock to their ports, 
for their prosperity, it is obvious that, were the whale 
fishery to fall off, or were the vessels engaged in it to 
abandon the islands for some port on the main land, the 
Sandwich Islands would relapse into their primitive 
insignificance. 

The diversion of whalers to some other port has been 
a subject of alarm to the Hawaiian government, espe- 
cially since it has been obvious that Upper California, 
with its splendid bay of San Francisco, would soon be- 
come the property of the United States. So long as 
this noblest harbor of the Pacific coast is blockaded 
against whalers by the enormous port charges enforced 
by the mistaken policy of Mexico, the Sandwich Islands 
have nothing to fear ; but, when Mexico shall relinquish 
her hold on California, and a large commercial city shall 
adorn the shore of San Francisco, whose quiet harbor, 
free of charges, shall invite the weather beaten whale- 
man, then a fatal check will be given to the prosperity 
of the islands, and much of their present importance 
will disappear. 

The great value of this fishery to those places where 
the ships are under the necessity of putting in to procure 
supplies, will appear if we consider its amazing extent. 
Take for instance one single year. Of six hundred 
American whalers that were in active operation on the 
different oceans, three hundred and sixty-seven visited 
the tw^o ports of the Sandwich Islands, Lahaira and 
Honolulu in 1843, some of them twice in the same year. 
Surely no nation ever sent out such an immense fleet of 
w^halers as now sail from the ports of the United States. 
Bold and adventurous, the Americans carry this enter- 
prise into every portion of the world frequented by the 
object of their perilous search. There is no sea that 
is not whitened with their canvass, and no climate that 
does not witness their toils. While we look for them 
among the icebergs of the arctic regions, they are seen 



230 SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

crossing the antarctic circle, and hovering around the 
south pole. They explore the vast extent of the At- 
lantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, while the Carzette 
Islands, New Holland, and New Zealand are witness to 
their hardy and persevering industry. And as the im- 
mense fleet of whalemen sailing from the United States 
around Cape Horn have been dependent upon the Sand- 
wich Islands for their supplies, so they have given to the 
islands much of the importance which they now possess ; 
and if the inhabitants of the islands wish to preserve 
the valuable trade arising from this fishery, they will 
find it necessary to remove all the disadvantages of port 
charges under which whalemen now labor, in visiting 
their harbors. 

Few portions of the world aftbrd a greater variety of 
productions than the Sandwich Islands. As the temper- 
ature in the different parts varies from forty to ninety 
degrees in the shade, so nearly all the productions of 
the temperate and torrid zones, here come to maturity. 
In the Hawaiian markets of their own production, may 
be found arrow-root, sugar-cane, Kukui oil, castor oil, 
mustard seed, coffee, indigo, cotton, cabbages, pine- 
apples, pumpkins, melons, oranges, bananas, figs, grapes, 
sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, onions, taro, Indian corn, 
wheat, rice, tobacco, beef, pork, goats, turkeys, fowls, 
cocoanuts, mangoes, and bread-fruit. Though the pro- 
ductions are thus various, the staff" of life amongst the 
natives is the taro-root. This root is cultivated on 
patches of ground wholly covered with water, so that 
the plant is wholly immersed, excepting the large green 
leaves. It grows to the size of a large potato ; is boiled 
by the natives; prepared in the form of paste, and eaten 
either alone or with dried fish. It is considered a 
wholesome food, and exceedingly nutritious. When 
thus prepared it is called poi, and being almost indispen- 
sable to the subsistence of the natives, it forms one of 
the principal articles of traffic among them. 

Society in Honolulu becomes a subject of interest to 
all, whether transient visitors, or residents. Though 
there are some jealousies existing betwixt the subjects 



Sandwich islands. 2a 1 

of different nations concerning the degree of tavor 
which they respectively enjoy under the government^ 
the British complaining that the Americans have more 
than themselves, and the Americans, that the privileges 
enjoyed by the British, are much greater than theirs, 
and the French, that they are much worse off than 
either the British or Americans ; yet all visitors agree 
in attributing to the foreign residents at Honolulu a 
degree of hospitality and good feehng not often enjoyed 
in any other part of the world. This virtue is not con- 
fined to the missionary families, but is a general charac- 
teristic of the foreign society. Strangers w^ho come 
well recommended, are immediately introduced into 
society of a highly intellectual and polished character, 
consisting of consuls and other resident officers, naval 
captains and merchants, and. American and English 
ladies, many of whom are highly accomplished, and 
possess greater personal charms than usually falls to the 
lot of even the fair sex. Embracing the missionary 
ladies, there are about thirty in Honolulu, whose pre- 
sence would add polish to the very best society our 
country affords. 

One characteristic of Hawaiian society is peculiarly 
striking. It is the almost universal regard paid to the 
Sabbath. Whether this arises from a deep religious 
feeling or from custom, I cannot say ; but certainly 
there are few places of the same extent where more 
decency and order are observed on this day than are 
apparent in Honolulu. With the exception of a few of 
the oldest residents, who have always habituated them- 
selves to the license and misrule of heathenism, all the 
foreign residents are regular in their attendance at the 
house of God. Indeed, it is very seldom that the quiet 
of the Sabbath is broken, either by strangers or the 
natives themselves. 

Though there is a class in Honolulu that '' look into 
the cup when it is red, that continue till night, till wine 
inflame them," yet I should not be doing justice to the 
society of the place, if I did not bear witness to the 
general prevalence of temperance- During the three 



232 SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

months which I have spent on the islands, I have seldom 
seen a drunken man, either native or foreigner. There 
are no beggars parading the streets, few petty thefts 
committed, no robberies, seldom an assault or act of 
violence, unless provoked by a white man. Yet, not- 
withstanding all this, and all that has been done for their 
benefit, the state of the native Hawaiians is still truly 
deplorable. To call them a christianized, civilized, 
happy, and prosperous people, would be to mislead the 
public mind in relation to their true condition. All 
these terms when applied to the Hawaiians, should be 
greatly qualified. Their state appears to be that spoken 
of by the prophet Zechariah as a day which should be 
neither light nor dark, with this difference, perhaps, that 
in the case of the Hawaiians, there is still more of night 
than of day, more of darkness than of light. To an 
inquiiy which I made of the Rev. Lowel Smith, one of 
the missionaries in Honolulu, concerning the prosperity 
of the natives, I received this reply : "The evident 
tendency of things is downward." Downward it is 
rapidly, in point of numbers, and if the ratio of decrease 
shall continue the same for only a few years, it does not 
require the eye of a prophet to see what will be the 
result. 

The epitaph of the nation will be wi'itten, and Anglo 
Saxons will convert the islands into another West 
Indies. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Return to Oregon - Embarkation - Passengers - Horace Holden - Thrilling story - 
The whaleman - Voyage - Arrival in the Columbia River - Disagreeable navi- 
gation — Yearly meeting of the Missionaries - Appointments — Arrival of Rev. 
George Gang — Reasons for his appointment - Great changes - Mr. Lee - 
George Abernethy — Powers of th» new Superintendent - Special meeting — 
Voyage — Laymen dismissed — Miscellaneous — Transporting supplies - Another 
meeting — Oregon Institute — Finances of the Mission brought to a close — Num- 
ber of Missionaries returned — Number remaining in the field. 

On the morning of the 3rd day of April, it was 
announced by Captain Couch that the Chenamus was 
again ready for sea, and that the passengers were expec- 
ted to be on board at nine o'clock. According to the 
arrangement before Mr. Lee's departure, we had secured 
our passage, and were ready to obey the summons to 
embark, and the following evening we had lost sight of 
the beautiful " Isles of the South," and were dancmg 
northward over the waves of the great Pacific. Among 
our fellow passengers were Dr. J. L. Babcock and family, 
who were returning to Oregon, to resume their places 
in the mission, and Mr. Horace Holden and family, who 
had resided some time on the island of Kaui, where they 
had been employed in the manufacture of sugar. He 
had formerly been employed in the whahng business, 
and on one of his voyages his vessel was wrecked, and 
he was cast away, with a few^ of his companions, on one 
of the Pelew Islands. 

Nearly all his fellow sufferers were cruelly mur- 
dered by the savages before his eyes, and he saved him- 
self from the same fate only by submitting without 
resistance, to all the indignities and cruelties that savage 
ingenuity could invent to torment a man without killing 
him. They stripped him of his clothing, and then, with 
10* 



234 RETURN TO OREGON. 

a kind of pinchers, pulled every hair from his body; they 
bound him down to the ground, and then in a most cruel 
manner, tattooed upon his breast and arms, the most 
hideous and indehble figures, and then pronounced him 
worthy to live and be their slave. Remaining with them 
for more than a year, at length, to his inexpressible joy, 
a vessel visited the island, and he was released from his 
intolerable wretchedness. Returning to Boston, he 
published a brief narrative of his shipwreck and captiv- 
ity, and soon after married, and with his wife sailed for 
the Sandwich Islands. With an interesting family he 
now goes to Oregon with the intention of spending the 
remainder of his life. 

The third day from Oahu we were boarded by Captain 
Sawyer, a whaleman, whose vessel had sprung a leak so 
that it required the constant exertions of his men at 
pumping, to keep her afloat. The Captain told us that 
if the leak increased it was doubtful whether he suc- 
ceeded in getting her into port, but said he should do his 
utmost to accomplish it. He said he had pumped out of 
her " all of the Pacific Ocean," and when he left he 
requested us to report him the first opportunity, that if 
he failed in getting her in, it would be known what had 
become of him. 

After this nothing especial transpired on our voyage 
demanding notice; the wind and weather were favorable 
so that we made fine progress every day, and on the 
twentieth, after leaving port, we made the high lands 
north of the mouth of the Columbia River. 

Crossing the bar in safety, in a few hours we came to 
anchor in the river off Fort George, where we found it 
exceedingly pleasant again to set our feet on tei^ra jirma. 
Weighing anchor the following day, we ascended the 
Columbia, but owing to the intricacy of the navigation, 
we did not gain the mouth of the Wallamette River, 
until three days after. So slow was our progress in the 
brig that Dr. Babcock, Mr. Holden and myself^ requested 
and obtained the use of the barge, to ascend the river 
to the Wallamette Falls. Taking our famihes with us, 
we labored with the oar until towards evening, when we 



.RETURN TO OKEtJON. 235 

arrived at the toot of the strong rapids, one mile below 
the falls. Unable to ascend the rapids with the use of 
our oars, we were obliged to get into the river where 
the water was up to our waists, and almost as cold as 
ice, and draw up the boat by main strength. In doing 
this we were obliged to remain in the water for more 
than an hour, and, until we became so benumbed that 
we could scarcely stand upon our feet. However, we 
gained the head of the rapids in safety, and in a half an 
hour after, were comfortably seated by the fireside of 
our good friends, Mr. and Mrs. George Abernethy, of 
the Oregon mission. 

The mission had been left by Mr. Lee, under the 
superintendency of Rev. David Leslie; and as the yearlj^ 
meeting of the missionaries took place soon after our 
arrival, it was arranged for me to supply Oregon City 
and Tuality Plains with preaching, while Mr. Leshe 
supplied the Wallamette settlement, and Mr. Waller was 
to preach to the Indians along the Wallamette River, 
Mr. Parrish to supply the station on Clatsop Plahis, and 
Mr. Perkins still to remain at the Dalls. 

Four missionaries had returned to the United States, 
the station at Puget's Sound had been abandoned, and 
the four appointments mentioned above connected with 
the mission school and the various secular departments, 
constituted the Oregon mission, w^hen the Rev. George 
Gary, the newly appointed superintendent, arrived at 
Wallamette Falls on the 1st day of June, 1844. 

Mr. Gary had been appointed to supercede Mr. Lee in 
the superintendency of the mission in consequence of the 
dissatisfaction of the Board in New York with the latter, 
arising from the supposition founded in the statements 
of niissionaries, oral and written, that they '' had been 
misled as to the necessity of so great a number of mis- 
sionaries in Oregon," and from the to them, " unaccount- 
able fact that they had not been able to obtain any 
satisfactory report of the manner in w^hich the large 
appropriations to the late reinforcement had been dis- 
bursed." These objections, however valid in the esti- 
mation of the Board, should not be considered as any 



236 RETURN TO OREGON. 

disparagement to the character of Mr. Lee. Changes 
inconceivably great with respect to the Indians of Ore- 
gon took place betwixt the time the great reinforcement 
was called for, and the time of their arrival in the 
Columbia River. The natives were wasting away 
during the time, like the dews of the morning, so that 
Mr. Lee himself, on his return to Oregon with the rein- 
forcement, was not among the least disappointed. 

Other persons have fallen into the same mistake with 
respect to the Indians. The Rev. Mr. Parker, in his 
exploring tour, which took place only the year previous 
to Mr. Lee's first return, according to his representa- 
tions, found the Indians very numerous, and everywhere 
desiring missionaries to come among them. For in- 
stance, the Callapooah tribe in the valley of the Walla- 
mette, where Mr. Lee estabhshed his mission, Mr. 
Parker represents as numbering, in 1836, over eight 
thousand souls; and in 1840, six hundred were all that 
could be found in that valley. Similar changes had 
taken place in other tribes, changes that no human wis- 
dom could possibly have foreseen. Besides this, at the 
time the call was made for the great reinforcement, 
there were but very few whites in Oregon, and the 
missionaries had been obliged to devote much of their 
time to manual labor for the purpose of procuring a 
subsistence, and as no one could have imagined that the 
country would have been so soon supplied with an indus- 
trious population of Americans, it was judged essential 
and important by Mr. Lee and his coadjutors in the 
work, that the mission should be supphed with a variety 
of secular men, embracing farmers, mechanics, account- 
ants, &c., whose labors would relieve the missionaries 
from temporal pursuits, and enable them to devote their 
time to the spiritual interests of the people. It is by no 
means certain that the Missionary Board, with all its 
foresight, placed in the same position that Mr. Lee and 
his brethren occupied in Oregon at that time, would not 
have come to the same conclusion. 

With regard to the objection against Mr. Lee, arising 
from his not furnishing the Board with the desirable 



RETURN TO OREGON. 2S7 

report concerning the disbursements of the large appro- 
priation, it should be observed that no such charge of 
delinquency appears against him up to the time of the 
appointment of the great reinforcement. Every thing 
with respect to the use of money appears to have been 
done to the entire satisfaction of the Board, and resolu- 
tions were passed, and articles published in the Christian 
Advocate and Journal, and other papers, commendatory 
of the character and course pursued by our " excellent 
superintendent;" but when the business of the mission 
became more complicated, in consequence of the ap- 
pointment of a large number of men of a variety of 
pursuits, it was found necessary to appoint a financial 
agent, or mission steward, whose business it should be 
to keep an exact account of the manner in which the 
funds of the mission were expended, and to prepare the 
annual reports of the disbursements. Mr. George Aber- 
nethy, of New York, than whom but few men could be 
found better qualified to bear its responsibilities, was 
appointed to this important post. I am aware that Mr. 
Lee, as the superintendent of the mission, was the re- 
sponsible man, but after the accounts of the mission 
were committed to the keeping of Mr. Abernethy, it 
was impossible for Mr. Lee, or any other man, to make 
out the reports, except Mr. Abernethy himself. To him 
every thing was clear, and the manner in which every 
dollar of the mission's money was expended could be 
accounted for, by a reference to his well kept books. 
If the Board was disappointed in not receiving a satis- 
factory report, it is doubtless chargeable upon the unset- 
tled state of the mission for the first two years after the 
arrival of the large reinforcement, and the multiplicity 
of business upon the hands of the superintendent, and 
the missionary steward. Be this as it may, the Mission- 
ary Board, at a regular meeting held July 19th, 1843, 
recommended to the bishop havmg charge of foreign 
missions, either the appointment of a special agent to 
proceed to Oregon and investigate the financial concerns 
of the mission, or supercede Mr. Lee by a new superin- 
tendent. The latter course was decided upon by the 



238 RETURN. TO OREGON. 

bishop, and in the September following it was announced 
that the Rev. George Gary of the Black River Confer- 
ence was appointed to the superintendency of the Oregon 
mission. 

The instructions to the new superintendent were few, 
but he was clothed with discretionary power, and had 
the destiny of missionaries, laymen, property and all, 
put into his hands. With this unlimited authority Mr. 
Gary on arriving in Oregon, entered at once upon the 
delicate and responsible duties which devolved upon 
him. 

On the 5th of June, Mr. Gary, myself, and our fami- 
lies left the falls and proceeded up the Wallamette 
River in a canoe, for the purpose of attending a meeting 
of the missionaries, called by the superintendent at the 
house of Rev. David Leslie, in the upper settlement. 
The distance to travel was about fifty miles, twenty by 
water, and thirty by land. We had made arrangements 
for persons to meet us at the Butte with means of land 
traveling, and expected to get through in a day, and 
therefore had not prepared for camping out; but opposed 
by the strength of the current, and our horses failing to 
arrive in time, w^e preferred to make ourselves as com- 
fortable as possible under the wide spread branches of 
a majestic fir, to traveling during the night. This was 
Mr. and Mrs. Gary's first encampment in Oregon. 
Though we had no bedding to keep our bodies warm dur- 
ing the night, yet, fortunately for our hungry stomachs, 
we had left of what we had provided for the day a 
a quarter of a large fresh salmon. This 1 filled with 
splinters to prevent its falling to pieces while cooking, 
and then fastening in the forks of a stick, roasted it 
before the fire. This, with tea and bread, constituted 
our supper. As the night was not cold we enjoyed a 
comfortable rest, though our bed was mother earth, and 
our covering the canopy of heaven. 

On the 6th, arrived at the house of Mr. Leslie, and 
the following day the missionaries were all collected, 
with the exception of Mr. Perkins and Mr. Brewer, at 
the Dalls. The meeting was called for the purpose of 



RETURN TO OREGON. 239 

consultation concerning the various departments of the 
mission, and though commenced at an early hour of the 
day, such was the interest involved that the investiga- 
tion continued until daylight the next morning. Some 
important changes in the mission were agitated, and it 
was decided to sell the mission property at Clatsop, near 
the mouth of the Columbia River, consisting of a farm, 
buildings, and stock. Mr. Gary informed the laymen 
connected with the, mission, that he intended to dismiss 
them, and proposed to defray their expenses home, if 
they wished to return, or pay them an equivalent in 
such property as the mission possessed, in Oregon. 
With the exception of one, they preferred to remain in 
the country, and accoi'dingly mission property was dis- 
bursed among the different families to the amount of 
from eight hundred to a thousand dollars each. The 
course adopted by Mr. Gary in disposing of the laymen 
belonging to the mission, was as satisfactory to the 
latter, as it was just and honorable in the superintendent. 
All the secular members of the mission were thus hon- 
orably discharged, except Mr. Brewer, the farmer a't 
the Dalls. It was thought the interests of that station 
required his continuance. The appointments of the 
missionaries which took place at the yearly meeting 
before Mr. Gary's arrival, were confirmed. 

On Sunday, 9th, preached at the mission school-house 
to upwards oif thirty persons, a good congregation for 
Oregon ; also at the house near the saw-mill. These 
houses have been erected since the arrival of the large 
reinforcement. They occupy a beautiful location, and 
the school-house is by far the most sightly building in 
Oregon. It is seventy-five by forty-eight feet on the 
ground, three stories high, and cost eight thousand 
dollars. 

On Wednesday, the 12th, left the mission school to 
return to the falls, leaving my family behind for the time 
being, intending to return and get them after a few days. 
As it had been settled that I should remain at the falls 
for at least one year, I purchased a couple of cows with 
their calves for the purpose of furnishing my family 



240 RETURN TO OREGON. 

with the luxury of milk and butter. The distance from 
the mission school to the falls by land, is fifty miles, and 
about one-third of the way is forest. Towards evening 
of the first day, while urging my animals along the nar- 
row zig-zag Indian trail leading through the dark forest 
which skirts the Molala River, the piteous and well 
known cry of a panther but a few rods from the path, 
brought man and beast at once to a stand. Remaining for 
a moment, and discovering that tha beast of prey was 
disposed to let us pass, I pushed on as fast as possible, 
desiring to get as far as I could from the haunts of my 
troublesome neighbor, before dark, for fear my animals 
might be attacked during the night. Arriving at nine 
o'clock on a little prairie between the Molala and Har- 
chauke Rivers, I tied my calves to a small oak tree with 
a lasso, built a fire in a small hut which one of the set- 
tlers had built some time before, and abandoned, and 
rolling myself in my blanket, lay down to sleep. In the 
morning I found all safe, the panther had kept his dis- 
tance. Loosing my animals I proceeded on, and at 
night arrived in safety at the falls. 

Friday, 14th. Returned to the upper settlement, and 
preached the following Sabbath again at the mission 
school. 

Wednesday, 19th. Having procured a quantity of 
supplies, consisting of wheat, beef, potatoes, &c., I hired 
it conveyed to the Bute, and thence took it in a canoe 
down to the falls. This is the manner of transporting 
provisions in the country — a very laborious and danger- 
ous method. 

Spent a few days in forwarding my house, which I 
had purchased in Oregon City soon after we returned 
from the islands, being quite solicitous to occupy it as 
soon as possible. Mr. Gary and his wife have decided 
to reside with us in preference to keeping house. They 
are still in the upper settlement, where Mr. Gary is 
arranging business with the lay members preparatory to 
their dismission. 

Sabbath, 23d. Preached to a congregation of about 
forty persons in the Methodist Church at the falls, and 



RETURN TO OREGON. 241 

proved the truth of the Saviour's promise, '' Lo, I am 
with you." 

Tuesday, 25th. Returned to the settlement above, to 
attend a meeting of the Methodist Society at the mission 
school, the following day. The meeting was called by 
Mr. Gary, and related to the Oregon Institute. 

Ever since soon after the arrival of the large rein- 
forcement in 1840, the people of Oregon had been 
endeavoring to establish a literary institution bearing 
the name of the '• Oregon Institute." They had so far 
succeeded as to secure a very eligible location about 
three miles from the Oregon Mission school, and build a 
house w4iich was nearly completed, at an expense of 
about three thousand dollars. It was now proposed by 
Mr. Gary to sell the Oregon Mission school house and 
premises, and disband the school ; and though he had an 
opportunity to sell it to the Roman Catholics for a high 
price, he preferred to sell it to the trustees of the Oregon 
Institute for much less. It was exceedingly desirable on 
the part of the trustees, to secure this property, as, from 
the location of the farm, embracing a mile square, it 
was very valuable, and the house itself cost the mission 
not less than eight thousand dollars. Having an oppor- 
tunity to sell the first mentioned premises without much 
sacrifice, they w^ere disposed of, and the Oregon Mission 
school-house and farm were purchased at an expense of 
four thousand dollars, and are hereafter to be known as 
the Oregon Institute. For the promotion of the interests 
of the church, and for the welfare of this rising country, 
a more judicious appropriation of the property of the 
former mission school could not have been made. By 
selhng it to the Catholics, Mr. Gary could have taken 
more money for it, but it w^ould have been converted 
into a nunnery. Every Protestant will say, "Rather 
give it all away, than desecrate it to so impious a pur- 
pose." 

The institution stands upon an elevated portion of a 
beautiful plain, surrounded with the most delightful 
scenery, and at a point which, at some future day, is 
destined to be one of considerable importance. 



242 RETURN TO OREGON. 

The building is beautifully proportioned, being seventy- 
five feet long and forty-eight wide, including the wings, 
and three stories high. When finished it will not only 
present a fine appearance without, but will be commo- 
dious, and w^ell adapted to the purposes intended to be 
accomphshed within. It is already so far advanced that 
a school is now in successful operation, under the tuition 
of one well qualified to sustain its interests. Already it 
numbers more students than did either the Cazenovia 
Seminary or the Willbraham Acadamy, at their com- 
mencement, and who can tell but that it may equal, if 
not exceed both those institutions in importance, as well 
as usefulness. Though I cannot say that it is the only 
hope of Oregon, for whether it lives or dies, Oregon will 
yet be redeemed from the remains of Paganism and the 
gloom of Papal darkness by which she is enshrouded; 
but the sentiment forces itself on the mind that the sub- 
ject of the Oregon Institute is vital to the interests of 
the Methodist Episcopal church in this country. If it 
lives, it will be a luminary in the moral heavens of 
Oregon, shedding abroad the light of knowledge after its 
founders shall have ceased to live. But if it dies, our 
sun is set, and it is impossible to tell what will succeed. 
Perhaps a long and cheerless night of Papal darkness, 
but more probably, others, more worthy of the honor 
than ourselves, will come forth to mould the moral mass 
according to their own liking, and give direction to the 
hterature of Oregon. 

After the transfer of the premises of the Oregon 
Mission School to the trustees of the Oregon Institute, 
all the remaining financial departments connected with 
the mission, were disposed of principally to those lay- 
men who had been dismissed from the mission, and the 
property thus sold, amounted to upwards of twenty-six 
thousand dollars. The finances of the Oregon Mission 
were thus summarily brought to a close, and the mission 
was not only relieved of a ponderous load, but assumed 
a decidedly spiritual character. 

Previous to the arrival of Mr. Gary, four of the 
preachers, besides Mr. Jason Lee, namely: W. W. Kone, 



RETURN TO OREGON. 243 

J. H Frost, J. p. Richmond, and Daniel Lee, had re- 
turned to the United States ; consequently, after the 
dismission of the laymen, there remained connected 
with the mission five preachers, namely: George Gary, 
the superintendent, David Leslie, A. F. Waller, H. R. 
W. Perkins and G. Hines. H. R. W. Perkins in the 
latter part of the summer of 1844 also returned to the 
United States, leaving but few regular preachers in the 
country. 

These, disencumbered from all financial embarrass- 
ments, addressed themselves to their work in the various 
portions of the country assigned them, A. F. Waller 
filling the place made vacant by the departure of Mr. 
Perkins at the Dalls, David Leslie in the upper part of 
the Wallamette settlement, and G. Gary and G. Hines 
at the Wallamette Falls and Tuality Plains. The Dalls 
w^as the only Indian Mission now sustained, and both 
here and among the white settlements, it was necessary 
for the missionary constantly to expose himself to fatigue 
and dangers in hunting up the people to give them the 
word of life. Fording, and swimming rivers, sleeping 
on the ground and in the rain, and going without food, 
were no uncommon incidents in the life of the Oregon 
missionary. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Final departure and voyage home — Notice of Captain Sylvester — Arrangements to 
leave — Mode ol' departure — Vancouver again — Clatsop Plains — On board the 
brig Chenamus — Difficult navigation — Danger — Get into the Bay — Fair 
breeze — Exit — Fellow passengers — T. J. Hubbard — Wave and Devenporl — 
Mode of taking a porpoise — Scarcity of men — Scarcity of incident — Pilot fish — 
Make land — Spoken by the English brig Frolic — Shipping — Arrival at Oahu — 
Reception — Review of the Mission. 

On the 10th of August, 1845, notice was given by 
Captain Sylvester, that the Brig Chenamus would sail 
from the Waliamette River for Boston by the way of 
the Sandwich Islands about the 1st of September, and 
that a few passengers might be comfortably accommo- 
dated on board. Mr. Gary began already to consider 
that his work in Oregon was accomplished, and he felt 
quite solicitous to avail himself of the opportunity of- 
fered, to return home; but kindly proposed to leave it 
altogether with the writer, to say which, whether the 
latter, or himself, should be the favored one, at the same 
time assuring me, that if he left, and I should remain in 
the country, he should leave the superintendency of the 
mission with me. This, after a night of the utmost 
solicitude, brought me to the conclusion to close up my 
missionary labors, and leave the scene of toil and dan- 
ger, and set my face towards my native land. Rev. Mr. 
Gary, as the superintendent of the mission, made ar- 
rangements with the Captain for my passage, and that 
of my family, consisting of Mrs. Hines, her sister, Miss 
Julia Bryant, her sister, and Lucy Anna Maria Lee, the 
daughter of Rev. Jason Lee, who had already returned 
to the United States. 

The amount required was one hundred and fifty dol- 
lars from Oregon to the Sandwich Islands, and five 



HOMEWARD VOYAGE. 245 

hundred and twenty from the Islands to Boston, by the 
way of Cape Horn. 

Through the kind assistance of Mr. and Mrs. Gary, 
and Mr. and Mrs. Abernethy, we found ourselves pre- 
pared to leave Oregon City at the Wallamette Falb, on 
the 29th of August, 1845. The brig had already dropped 
down the river, and it was necessary for us to descend 
to the mouth of the Columbia in an open boat. Pro- 
curing a skiff which belonged to the mission, I loaded 
my baggage into it, leaving a place in the centre for the 
accommodation of my family. After dining with our 
kind friends, Mr. and Mrs. Abernethy, we repaired to 
the boat to take our departure. Adjusting the family in 
their place, I gave one oar into the hands of Kana, my 
Hawaiian servant, and the other to James Hemingway, 
an Indian boy who had resided with us for some time, 
and myself took the stern oar. We w^aved a farewell 
to our friends who stood on the top of the bluff above 
us, and silently, but not without the deepest emotion, 
glided off into the strong current of the river. Quickly 
the beautiful cataract and its flourishing village were 
hidden from our view by the dark point of fir timber 
which we had left behind us. 

Rowing twenty-eight miles, we arrived, late in the 
evening, within two miles of Vancouver, but not wishing 
to disturb the gentlemen of the fort at so late an hour, 
we encamped for the night. Next morning went up to 
the fort to complete our preparations for sea; were very 
kindly received by James Douglass, Esq., w^ho by his 
friendly attentions, and acts of benevolence, paved the 
way to render our voyage to the islands much more 
agreeable than it otherwise would have been. 

Saturday, at two, p. m., left Fort Vancouver, and 
descending the Columbia ten miles, encamped in a grove 
of willows near the margin of the river, where we re- 
mained quietly, during the Holy Sabbath. 

Monday, the 2nd, we continued our voyage, and after 
three days of excessive labor and fatigue, accompanied 
with imminent dangers and exposures, during which we 
knew not the luxury of eating or sleeping under the 



t46 HOMEWARD VOYAGE. 

cover of a roof, v^^e arrived in safety at the house of 
Rev. J. L. Parrish, on Clatsop Plains, about seven miles 
in the rear of Point Adams at the mouth of the Colum- 
bia. Here we remained until Saturday the sixth, when 
we were informed by Captain Sylvester that the brig 
lay in Young's Bay, and was ready to receive us on 
board. Taking an affecting leave of our old friends Mr. 
and Mrs. Parrish, with whom we had lived on terms of 
intimacy in our native land, and with whom we had 
suffered the perils of a voyage of more than twenty- 
two thousand miles, as well as the dangers and depriva- 
tions of a residence among the most savage of men, we 
were conducted through a forest of fir to a landing on 
the Seapanowan Creek, the mouth of which forms a 
good harbor for small craft. Here a boat was sent to 
take us off, and at four o'clock, p. m., we found ourselves 
comfortably situated on board the brig Chenamus, with 
our things nicely packed away in our state rooms, wait- 
ing for a favorable wind and tide to take us to sea. 

Sunday, 7th. In the morning the Calapooah, a small 
sail-boat, came along side from shore, bringing vegetables 
and beef for the Chenamus. With her I expected Kana, 
my Hawaiian, but he had absconded during the night, 
choosing rather to remain in Oregon than to go back to 
his native island. 

Monday, 8th. Weighed anchor in the morning before 
sunrise, with the wind in the north-east, and a strong 
ebb tide. Soon the wind died away, and we found we 
were drifting fast on to Sand Island, and were obliged 
to come to anchor about one mile and a half from Point 
Adams. While we lay here the Cadboro, a small schoo- 
ner from Vancouver, bound to Vancouver's Island with 
furs, passed us, but finding herself approaching too near 
the point of Sand Island, she also came to anchor. The 
wind breezing up a little more fresh, the Chenamus made 
another attempt to get across to Baker's Bay, but faihng, 
again came to anchor, and found herself worse situated 
than before. The wind was fair, but the tide bore us 
out of the channel. After dinner made a third attempt 
to get to the usual anchorage, in Baker's Bay ; but being 



HOMEWARD VOAAGfi. 24t 

baffled by the tide, we were again obliged to anchor in 
a very exposed position, where we lay during the night. 

The evening of the 10th was exceedingly pleasant, 
the wind in the north-west, and the prospects quite fair 
for getting out the next day. 

Tuesday, 9th. The tables were all turned, the wind 
was in the south-east, with the prospect of a gale, the 
vessel in no desirable position, but the captain determined 
if possible to get into the bay. Accordingly, we weighed 
anchor, but made another ineffectual effort to gain our 
moorings, as we were obliged to anchor about one mile 
and a half from the proper ground. After waiting a 
few hours for the tide to favor us, we raised anchor 
again, and after tacking about two or three times be- 
tween Sand Island and Chenook Spit, we came to anchor 
only one half mile nearer the desired haven. 

Wednesday, 10th. In the afternoon we succeeded in 
getting down into the bay, and anchoring in a suitable 
place to take the breeze from the north, which is the 
only wind that will serve us in crossing the bar of the 
Columbia, and for which we made up our minds to wait 
patiently, remembering that, in this very place three 
years before, we were detained by adverse gales that 
lasted as long as the storm of the deluge. 

On the 11th and 12th the wind was south and west, 
which forbade our leaving the bay, consequently we had 
another opportunity of climbing to the top of Cape Dis- 
appointment, and surveying the surrounding scenery. 
During our detention, at the solicitation of Mrs. H., we 
enjoyed a pic-nic of muscles, which we found here in 
abundance, with bread, butter, and tea. 

Saturday, 13th. In the morning a fresh breeze sprung 
up from the north, and it was evident that we should 
bid the dark mountains of Oregon *' Good bye," before 
night. On shipboard, all was bustle and anxiety, and 
about noon the command of the captain was to " Heave 
short." Accordingly, the windlass was manned, the 
passengers assisting, and quickly the chain cable was 
shortened, so that the brig was directly over the anchor. 
We waited a few minutes longer for the proper state of 



248 HOflLEWAKD VOYAGE. 

the tide, which is half-ebb, and then, at about one o'clock, 
the bows of the brig, yielding to the already freshened 
breeze, turned towards the dreaded bar, and the roUing 
deep. The schooner Cadboro' took the lead, and though 
the bar was exceedingly rough, and the mountain swells 
broke near us as we passed through the contracted 
channel, yet the wind was fresh and fair, and we soon 
found ourselves entirely free from all the sand-bars of 
the Columbia, and before a seven knot breeze, passing 
beautifully on our course over the deep dark waves of 
the Pacific Ocean. 

Tuesday, 10th. This is the third day since w^e crossed 
the Columbia bar, and as we have been constantly fa- 
vored with a fair wind, we have made fine progress on 
our voyage. Five gentlemen are our fellow passengers, 
whose names are. Wave, Devenport, Teck, a Prussian 
naturalist, Stewart, and T. J. Hubbard. The last came 
to Oregon with Captain Wyeth and Rev. Jason Lee in 
1835, and having resided in Oregon since that time, is 
well acquainted with the history of the country. He 
was himself connected with a tragical occurrence, the 
like of which is quite too common in an Indian country. 
The cause of the dil^culty was an Indian woman, whom 
Hubbard had taken, and was living with as his wife. 
Previously, she had looked with favor upon another 
man by the name of Thornburgh, and the latter resolved 
to take her away from Hubbard, even at the expense 
of his life. For this purpose he entered Hubbard's 
cabin in the dead of the night, with a loaded rifle, but 
Hubbard, having knowledge of his design, had armed 
himself with loaded pistols, and discharging one at 
Thornburgh as he entered the door, the ball took effect 
in the breast of the latter, and he fell, and expired. A 
self-constituted jury of inquest, after a thoi'ough exam- 
ination of the case, brought in a verdict of "Justifiable 
homicide." 

The manner in which Hubbard and the rest of our 
fellow passengers spend ther time on the voyage indi- 
cates that they have neitheir become wise nor virtuous 
from the history of the past. They seem incapable of 



HOMKWARD VOYAGE. 249 

interesting themselves, save at backgammon or the card 
table, nearly all the time not consumed in eating or 
sleeping being employed at one or the other of the two 
games. 

"Wednesday, ITth. Ware and Devenport v^ere suffer- 
ing exceedingly from s&asickness, and proposed to give 
the captain one hundred and fifty dollars to set them off 
on the shore of California ; but as a matter of course, 
this was inadmissible, and the two gentlemen were 
doomed to enjoy the pleasures of one sea voyage. But 
one of them declared that he had rather pack a mule 
across the Rocky Mountains, than to go to sea ; and 
that, if he ever sets his foot on terra firma again, he will 
never be caught on another vessel. 

In the evening backgammon and seasickness were 
both forgotten a short time in the excitement of taking 
a large porpoise. This is generally considered a great 
treat by seamen, especially those on merchant vessels. 
The manner of taking them is as follows : a rope is 
passed through a block or pulley, which is fastened to 
some part of the rigging near the bow of the vessel, 
one end of which is tied to a harpoon prepared with a 
handle six or eight feet long, so as to render it con- 
venient to throw. A sailor then fixes himself on the 
martingal under the bowsprit, while a few others at 
the other end of the rope, stand by to haul in. The 
reason for their taking their position at the forward end 
of the vessel is this ; the porpoise always plays around 
the bow more than any other part, and the rigging under 
the bowsprit will admit of a sailor's fixing himself 
directly over the porpoise in his frequent approaches to 
this point. When thus prepared, and the porpoises 
hover around the bow, the harpoon is cast with great 
force and precision into the selected victim, and instantly 
the water is crimsoned with his blood. When the 
" throw " has been a sure one, the word *' haul " is 
given, and the fish, or animal, is immediately raised 
above the water, and brought upon deck. The taking 
of a porpoise is one oi those exciting eVents "which 

11 



$60 HOMEWARD VaVAGE* 

occasionally break in upon the monotony of life at sea. 
It was judged that the one we took would weigh two 
hundred and fifty pounds. It afforded several gallons 
of oil, and meat enough to last the sailors for a number 
of days. 

Thursday, 25th, Thus far on our voyage we have 
had the most beautiful w^eather^ there having been no 
head wind to speak of, and but about four hours calm. 
We have generally been favored with a gentle breeze 
from the north-west^ which has wafted us on our direct 
course to Oahu at the rate of five and six knots an hour. 
This has been exceedingly favorable to us on account of 
the w^eakness of our crew, six of the men having run 
away from the brig in Oregon, and could not be recov- 
ered, leaving but three efficient men on board of her^ 
beside her three officers. But the Lord knoweth how 
*Uo temper (or regulate) the winds to the shorn lamb." 

We are cheered with the prospect of a speedy pas- 
sage to the islands, as we seem to have secured the 
north-east trades ; but of this there is no certainty, as 
the trades are not very regular, and at sea above all 
other places, '' we know not what a day may bring 
forth." 

Monday, 29th. We were interested in the discovery 
of a sail on our starboard bow, which appeared to be 
steering the same course with us. She was a bai'que, 
probably a whaler from the northern ocean, bound to 
the Sandw^ich Islands, and thence home. Incidents of 
interest on this voyage thus far have been exceedingly 
scarce, a very great uniformity having characterized the 
days we have been at sea. However, the monsters of 
the deep, whales, sharks, &c., have from time to time 
attracted our notice, while the dark albatros, mother 
Carey's chickens, a small sea gull, and the boatswain's 
mate marlinspike, or man of war bird, as he is indiffer- 
ently called, are all of the feathered tribe we have seen. 
The last mentioned is a very interesting bird, snow 
white, and appears very beautiful as it flits around the 
vessel on its wings of light, as if desiring to find a place 



HOMEWARD VOYAGE. 251 

of rest among the moving spars. It is principally found 
between the tropics, and must therefore be considered a 
lover of warm weather. 

On the 30th crossed the Tropic of Cancer, and as the 
wind was very light, we found the heat quite oppressive. 
By a very good observation on the 1st of October, we 
found our latitude to be twenty-two degrees forty-four 
minutes, longitude one hundred and fifty-three degrees, 
fifty minutes ; twenty four hour's sail from Oahu before 
a seven knot breeze. The captain walks the deck 
whisthng for a breeze, and in the evening, behold it 
comes, and the sailing is delightful. Those who have 
been sick are getting well, and all unite in pronouncing 
the voyage thus far, as it regards wind and weather, an 
unusuallv pleasant one. 

Thursday, 14th of October. The trades have fresh- 
ened up to*^a strong breeze, and all were delighted with 
the prospect of seeing land before night. Borne onward 
prosperously, according to expectation, at four o'clock, 
the tops of *the mountains of the island of Mowi, tower- 
ing above the clouds, burst upon our view. At sundown 
Morotoi, could also be seen, but both soon disappeared 
amidst the darkness of night. We continued our course 
until four o'clock in the morning, when we could dis- 
tinctly see the land but a few miles distant, and not 
knowing whether we were exactly right in our calcula- 
tions, we lay to for the light of day to discover unto us 
precisely our condition. At six o'clock, a. m., we found 
ourselves about six miles from Morotoi, with Oahu on 
our starboard bow, about thirty miles dist-ant. Soon 
after sunrise a sail appeared on our stern, and evidently 
neared us very fast, while two other sail appeared on 
our bow, and seemed to be steering directly towards the 
harbor. While we were passing around Diamond Head, 
and the harbor and shipping, with the town of Honolulu, 
were breaking upon our view, the vessel which had 
been coming up on our stern, passed us so near that our 
yard arms were but a few feet from hers. She proved 
to be her Britanic Majesty's Brig Frolic of sixteen guns. 
Her commanding officer hailed u§ as she passed, and 



252 HOMEWARD VOYAGE. 

inquired if we had seen the British Irrigate America on 
our way down. We answered no. He replied that 
she left England with the design of visiting Oregon. 
The brig was a beautiful craft, but probably would not 
consider it much of a " Frolic " to take a turn-a-bout 
with an American '' Wasp." 

The patriotic American very naturally calls to mind 
under such circumstances the triumph of the '' Wasp " 
over the " Frolic " in the last war, and is led to wonder 
why a " Wasp " has not been continued in the American 
Navy. 

As we drew near the shipping in the outer harbor we 
discovered a number of men of war, one of which was 
the British line of battle ship the Collingwood, Lord Sey- 
mour, Admiral, with which the Frolic passed a number 
of signals, and approaching her, gave her a salute of 
sixteen guns, which was returned by the Admiral. 

It was an exciting time on board of our little brig as 
we so suddenly emerged from the solitudes of the ocean 
into such interesting and noisy scenes. 

As a number of vessels were before us, it was neces- 
sary for us to come to anchor in the roads, soon after 
which we were boarded by the pilot, with whom the 
Captain went directly to the shore, promising to send off 
a boat to take the passengers ashore before night. This 
he accordingly did, and at sundown we landed on the 
wharf near the American Consulate, where we found 
servants waiting with a small hand wagon to convey 
Mrs. H. and the children to the house of Mr. Rogers, 
one of the Presbyterian missionaries, where we were 
kindly invited to take up our lodgings for a day or two, 
or until we could make other provisions. 

This is the third time I have visited the Sandwich 
Islands during the last six years, and having mingled 
several months with both foreigners and natives, I have 
had an opportunity of making observations of no very 
superficial character; and as the result, I am compelled 
to entertain the opinion that the public generally, and 
particularly the christian world, entertain very erroneous 
views in relation to the true condition of the aborigines of 



HOMEWARD VOYAGE. 253 

these islands. Great changes have indeed been effected, 
and vast improvements made among the Hawaiians 
through the instrumentaUty of missionary labor, yet, 
after all, the amount of real good accomplished, I fear, 
is not so great as the christian world has been led to 
believe. Religion, in every department of Hawaiian 
society, however genuine the system which is taught them 
may be, is of a very superficial character. Of this the 
missionary residing among them, is more sensible than 
any other man can be, and one of them, in answer to 
the inquiry, " how many of your people give daily evi- 
dence of being christians f replied '' none, if you look 
for the same evidence which you expect will be exhibited 
by christians at home." Indeed, it is a source of the 
greatest affliction with the missionaries, that all their 
efforts are ineffectual in eradicating that looseness of 
morals, which attaches itself so adhesively to the Ha- 
waiian character, and which is every where exhibiting 
itself in the gambling, thievish, and adulterous habits of 
the people of all classes, from the hut of the most de- 
graded menial, to the royal palace. 

One fact will show the astonishing extent to which 
promiscuous intercourse prevails. Relationship is always 
traced from the mother, and not from the father, as in 
all civilized countries, and indeed it is not an easy matter 
for a Hawaiian to tell who his father is. 

The practice of promiscuous assemblages of males 
and females in the streets of Honolulu, is as common as 
it is odious and demoralizing. Crowds of this descrip- 
tion may be seen at all times of day and night, where 
conduct may be witnessed, and conversation heard, of 
the most reprehensible character. 

In attending the native churches one is struck with the 
Hstlesness and inattention which prevail in the congrega- 
tion. No matter how important the truths, or how 
impressive the manner of the speaker, he seems scarcely 
to gain the hearmg of the ear; and seldom do the wor- 
shippers give any satisfactory evidence that they feel 
any of the soul hallowing influences resulting from an 
evangeUcal waiting before God. The Islanders are far 



254 HOMEWARD VOYAGE. 

behind the Indians of Oregon in paying attention to the 
preaching of the gospel. If once you can get an Indian 
to consent to hear you, you are sure of his attention till 
your speech is closed. But as to the effect produced, 
there is Httle to boast of in either case. 

There are the same cold and callous nature, the same 
unaccountable stupidity and brutal insensibihty to contend 
with, in both, and these array themselves against all the 
efforts made to overcome them, with disheartening effect. 
Notwithstanding these things, which the faithful chron- 
icler of facts cannot pass over without mentioning, there 
are, on the other hand, evidences sufficient to estabhsh 
the vast importance and utiUty of the missionary cause. 
For a particular account of the islands and of the mis- 
sion, the reader is referred to the notes of a former visit. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Voy&gc to China — Change of calculations — Embark on board the Leland — Acci- 
dent — Departure — Cabin associates — The Captain — Rules to judge of charac- 
ter — The Island of Grigan — The Ladrones — Dangerous reefs — Gale — Bashu 
islands — Spanish Possessions in the Pacific — Formosa — Chinese Sea — Ship 
Montreal — Ty phongs — The contending Pilots — Appearance of the coast of 
China — Arrival at Hong Kong — Reception of Keying — Review of the British 
troops — Sabbath disregarded — The Rev. Charles GutslafF — Island of Hong 
Kong — City of Victoria — Population — Schools — Morrison Education Society — 
Morrison Hill — Success of the School — Rev. S. R. Brown — Churches — Mis- 
sions — Where established - Missionaries -^ Climate of Hong Kong — Soldiers^ 
Burying Ground — Wesleyan Methodists — Short voyage — City of Macao — 
■Grand Prior — Bazaar — Temple — Camoen's Cave — Voyage to Canton — De- 
scription of the " Provincial City " — Adventures in the city — Temple of 
Honan — Dr. Parker — Dr. Devan — Proclamation of Keying — Counter Pro- 
clamation — Flower Garden — Dr. Bridgeman — Great excitement — Danger (rf 
an outbreak — Thrust out of the city — Night excursion — On board the Leland — 
Things that strike the foreigner — Boat population — Pira'es- 

Friday, October 10th. I was informed by Captain 
Sylvester that the Chenamus, in which we expected to 
take passage to the United States, would not be ready 
to sail under two or three months, and there being 
several vessels ready to sail for the States by the way 
of China, 1 resolved, if possible, to obtain a passage in 
one of them. Applying to Mr. Finlay, the supercargo 
■of the ship Leland, which had just arrived at Honolulu 
from Callao, and was designing in a day or two to con- 
tinue her voyage to China, and thence direct to New 
York, I was at first informed that all the staterooms but 
one were occupied, and there being four of us he could 
not make us comfortable in that. At first we relinquished 
the idea of sailing in that ship, but ascertaining that a 
young gentleman had taken the room adjoining the spare 
one who expected to leave the vessel at Hong Kong, I 
concluded that, if Mr. Finley would allow me the privi- 



256 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

lege of sleeping on the sofa or floor of the cabin, Mrs. 
H. and the two girls could, for the short space of thirty 
days, get along with the one room, and after that, the 
disembarkation of the young gentleman would give us 
the privilege of occupancy of both. This I suggested 
to Mr. Finlay, and readily obtained a proposal from him 
to take us to New York by the way of Canton for eight 
hundred dollars. As it would have cost me one hundred 
dollars per month to have remained at the islands, and 
five hundred and twenty for passage on the Chenamus, I 
concluded that the expense of the latter course would be 
nearly, if not quite, equal to the passage by the way of 
China. This, connected with other reasons which in- 
volve the character of the Chenamus, both as it regards 
ner accommodations, and the morals which prevailed on 
board, had the influence to bring me to the conclusion 
to accept of the proposal of Mr. Finlay, and return to 
my native land by the way of the Celestial Empire. 

Accordingly, on Wednesday, the 15th of October, at 
two o'clock, p. M., we embarked on board the Leland, 
and as the wind was fair, had a prospect of going to sea 
before night. 

Twenty-two vessels had been waiting for the southern 
gales to subside, and the northern breeze to come to 
enable them to put to sea, and by good luck ours was 
the fourth on the pilot's list. A little accident came well 
nigh detaining us in the harbor over night. As our anchor 
was raised our vessel was driven by the strong trade wind 
directly down to another ship, stern first, doing but 
little damage however, but rendering it necessary for us 
to warp up against the wind for some distance, before 
we could get clear of the ships that lay in our track. 
Extricating ourselves from this difliculty, just as the 
sable curtains of the evening began to render it difficult 
for us to discern the outlines of the interesting island of 
Oahu, our pilot, Captain Penhollow, who had conducted 
us out of the inner harbor through the narrow winding 
channel that opens a passage through the coral reef with 
which the island is environed, wishing us a happy and 
prosperous voyage, returned towards the glimmering 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 257 

lights of the city of Honolulu, while to the command, 
" square away the yards," our ship's prow was pointed 
to the westward, and before the silent hour of twelve, 
the fast receding island had disappeared amidst the gloom 
of surrounding darkness. On leaving this delightful 
Oasis of the ocean, where we had spent so many hours 
of unmingled enjoyment, we could but feel those sensa- 
tions which moved the heart of the poet to sing as he 
left his island home, 

*' Shades of evening close not o'er us, 

Leave our lonely bark awhile ! 
Morn, alas ! will not restore us 

Yonder dim and distant isle ; 
Still my fancy can discover 

Sunny spots where friends may dwell ; 
Darker shadows round us hover. 

Isle of beauty. Fare thee well !" 

A gale had long been blowing from the south, and 
consequently the sea was very high, and for two or 
three of the first days the passengers were nearly all 
confined to their births with sea sickness, but the 20th 
found us on a comparatively smooth sea, gliding along 
before a gentle breeze from the north-east, in the enjoy- 
ment of health, and consequently qualified to take obser- 
vations in regard to the ship, officers, crew and passen- 
gers, with whom we were to be so intimately connected, 
and with the interests of whom our own were to be so 
closely blended, during a voyage encompassing three- 
quarters of the globe. 

Our fellow passengers consisted of Rev. A. B. Smith, 
wife, and three orphan children, the daughters of the 
late Mr. Lock, of Oahu, Mrs. Hooper, the wife of Wm. 
Hooper, Esq., acting Consul at Oahu, two children, and 
Mr. Sheliber, the young gentleman mentioned above. 
Besides these, Mr. Finlay, the supercargo, occupied a 
state room in the cabin, and this constituted our cabin 
society, as the Captain stopped principally in the round 
house, on deck. Our first impressions regarding our 
associates in the cabin, were quite favorable, but the 
Captain we found to be a surly jack tar, well acquainted 



£58 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

with Biliingsgats vocabulary, and ready to draw upon its 
resources on all occasions. Indeed, it appeared from 
the amazing facihty with which he could call to his aid 
the most vulgar kind of swearing, that he must have 
taken his regular gradations in the high school of his 
Satanic majesty himself. Mr. Finlay, who had control 
of the business of the vessel, showed at the outset, a 
desire to render his passengers comfortable, in the abun- 
dant provisions, consisting of vegetables, pigs, poultry, 
&c., with which he caused the ship to be supplied. 

As the Leland was built in packet style, we found the 
cabin fine, and the state-rooms quite commodious ; and 
after a few days' experience we were obliged to admit 
that the table of the Leland was better furnished than 
that of any other vessel in which we had sailed. 

We were favored with gentle breezes from the north- 
east and east which carried us along from five to seven 
knots an hour, without anything in particular to break 
the monotony of the voyage until the 6th of November, 
when at three, p. m., we made Grigan, the northernmost 
of the Ladrone Islands. The appearance of this island, 
as we passed along by it about six miles off, was exceed- 
ingly interesting, perhaps more so to us in consequence 
of our not having been for many days entertained with 
the sight of any object but the sky over our heads, the 
boundless expanse of waters, around us, and the little 
world in which we were floating. This island is very 
high, nearly round, and rising gradually from its mar- 
gin, it hides its summit above the clouds. It appeared 
remarkably green as if covered with timber, or with 
other vegetation of a luxuriant growth. 

The island was visited two years ago by Mr. Dwight 
from the United States, and some twenty or thirty per- 
sons, some of whom were white men, and some natives 
were found upon it. The white men appeared to be of 
the sailor class, but could not give a very good account 
of themselves. 

The Ladrone Islands are numerous, and the entire 
group belongs to the once famous, but now crumbhng 
kingdom of Spain. The two southernmost are now 



VOYAGE TO CHINA, 259 

principally occupied by Spaniards, and are used by 
Spain as a kind of Botany Bay, or place of banishment 
for state prisoners. Though their climate is delightful 
and some of them are fine fertile islands, yet they are 
of but little consequence to the world ; and this is 
doubtless owing to the weakness and indolence of their 
possessors. Since they were first discovered by Magel- 
lanni, 1521, they have been inhabited by a set of thieves 
and pirates, and hence they are called " Ladrone (pirate) 
Islands." 

West of the Ladrones are a number of dangerous 
reefs, which have been seen by several navigators ; and 
it was our fortune to get directly among them. How- 
ever, Providence smiled upon us, and we passed them 
all in safety, though while exposed to them, we were 
visited by a tremendous gale from the south, which not 
only prostrated us with seasickness, but threatened to 
drive us into the caverns of the deep. The waves 
rolled in mountains, and dashing around us in frightful 
pyramids, and commingling their deafening roar with 
the howling of the fitful blasts, struck terror into the 
brave hearts of the sons of the ocean, and admonished 
all to fear and tremble before Him who rideth upon the 
wings of the wind. After four days of incessant gales 
from every point of compass, the wind subsided, a calm 
succeeded, a breeze followed from the north and brought 
with it the blessings of health to the sick, and prosperity 
on our voyage. 

On the 14th of November the appearance of strange 
birds, and now and then an object floating upon the sur- 
face of the water, gave signs that we were approaching 
land. On the evening of the 15th, we passed through 
between the north Bashee Islands, and the Tobal, 
Tobago, and Hima. The Bashee Islands all belong to 
Spain. Many of them are thickly settled, and are said 
to be very fertile. All the Spanish islands in this part 
of the Pacific Ocean are governed by a captain general, 
whose residence is at Manilla, on the island of Luconia. ^ 
His government is exceedingly despotic, and he is only 
responsible to the ministry in Spain. 



260 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

Luconia, or Luzon, as it is laid down on some maps, 
is said to be a splendid island, vieing in natural resources 
with the far famed island of Java; but from the despotic 
nature of its government, and the indolence and jealousy 
of the Spaniards, it is of but little consequence to the 
crown of Spain. 

On Sunday morning, the 16th, the island of Formosa 
was descried from the quarter deck. This island, with 
the Bashees and Luconia, form a chain which separates 
the Chinese Sea from the Pacific Ocean. Formosa was 
the first land we saw over which the Emperor of China 
sways his sceptre. It is a large island, with many fer- 
tile valleys, but the highlands from our vessel appeared 
exceedingly barren. It contains a number of large 
cities, and the population is exceedingly numerous. 
There is no direct business carried on betwixt them and 
foreigners, as this is a part of the Celestial Empire 
which barbarians are not allowed to visit. 

On the day before we entered upon the Chinese Sea, 
it was exceedingly dark and gloomy, but w^e had no 
sooner passed the islands above mentioned, than the 
clouds disappeared, the sun arose in indescribable splen- 
dor, a fresh and invigorating breeze sprang up from the 
north, and we were wafted most delightfully over the 
sea of China, at the rate of nine miles an hour, towards 
our destination. Early in the morning we discovered 
a vessel fifteen miles astern of us, and at evening she 
passed us about three miles to the leeward, and proved 
to be the American ship Montreal, which left the harbor 
of Honolulu four hours before us. She formerly be- 
longed to a line of London packets, is reputed a fast 
sailor, and should have beaten us at least six days to 
China. 

On the morning of the 17th, the water changed from 
a deep blue to a light green, w4iich indicated that we 
were already on soundings, though two hundred and 
sixty miles from port. 

The Chinese Sea is regarded as the most dangerous 
waters to navigate in this part of the world, owing to 
the numfjrous shoals and currents, and to the winds 



VOYAGE TO CHINA 261 

called *' ty phongs," which prevail in this region. The 
name rendered into EngHsh is literally great-w^inds, ty, 
signifying great, and phong, wind. They often come 
without giving any warning of their approach, and woe 
to the luckless vessel on which their fury is poured. 
Sails, spars, and rigging fly in fragments before the 
blast, and happy is that ship whose dismasted hull still 
floats upon the surface of the agitated deep after the 
storm has expended its violence. Many vessels, with 
their entire crews, have foundered in these storms, and 
not a vestige of them have ever been seen afterwards. 

On the morning of the 18th, we passed the rock called 
" Pedro Branco," and at sunrise Chinese fishing boats 
appeared on every side, and the rough outlines of the 
coast of China presented themselves before us. Pre- 
sently two boats bearing the pilot's flag, approached us, 
and an amusing strife took place betwixt them to see 
which should get on board of us first. They both came 
along side at once, and the two pilots sprung on to the 
side of our ship at the same time ; but one of them in 
his eflfort to jump, stumbled, and fell into the sea. We 
were passing through the water with great rapidity, and 
the unlucky pilot, struggling in the water for Hfe, and 
frightened so that his eyes stood out of his head like 
those of a craw fish, shot astern of us with the velocity 
of an arrow. But, accustomed to such adventures, his 
comrades in the boat immediately cast off" a couple of 
long Bambo sticks, which the unfortunate man seized, 
and with the assistance of them kept himself above the 
water. A few hours afterwards he was picked up by a 
small boat which was sent out for his relief 

On approaching the coast, fishing and other boats are 
seen in every direction, even far out of sight of land, 
and one is impressed with the idea of the vast popula- 
tion of the Chinese Empire, long before he mingles with 
the countless throngs on ^^ terra firman As the land, 
with the light of morning, burst upon our view, there 
was disclosed a succession of barren mountains, exceed- 
ingly irregular in their outlines, and with the numerous 
islands of rocks ; and the bays and gulfs which abound 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

along the shore, present the most formidable barriers to 
the vast interior. The striking dissimilarity of this coast 
to all others, as well as the treacherous and piratical 
character of the inhabitants, may explain in part the 
reason why maritime nations have been so tardy in 
gaining access among the Chinese. But this coast is 
getting now to be well understood. Since the war with 
England, two vessels have been constantly employed in 
surveying its numerous islands, intricate channels, and 
deep indentations. 

At ten o'clock, a. m., of the 18th of November, we 
rounded the west point of the island of Hong Kong, 
and came to anchor in the beautiful bay, which reflects, 
as from a liquid mirror, the flourishing city of Victoria. 
We were immediately invited on shore by the Rev. S. 
R. Brown, who is in the employment of the Morrison 
Education Society, as conductor of a school for the 
benefit of Chinese boys, and to whom we had letters of 
introduction, and with whom we spent an agreeable 
week. On the following Sabbath evening I was invited 
to preach in a chapel recently built, and known as the 
"Union Chapel," though it is principally under the control 
of the missionaries of the London Missionary Society. 
The congregation consisted of English residents, soldiers, 
Americans, and native Chinese, and numbered about one 
hundred persons. 

We arrived at Hong Kong just in time to witness the 
arrival and subsequent public entertainments of the cel- 
ebrated Chinese statesman. Keying, who is the governor 
general of the province of Canton, and imperial com- 
missioner to transact the business of the government 
relating to the intercourse of China with other nations. 
His visit had been long expected, and from the great 
popularity of the statesman, both in China and among 
the British, it was contemplated with a great degree of 
interest. Splendid preparations had been made for his 
reception, and to render his visit not only interesting to 
himself, but conducive to the extension of British influ- 
ence in China. 

He was conducted from Whampo to Hong Kong in a 



VOYAGE TO CHINA* 263 

British steamboat, and recollecting the immense destruc- 
tion of Chinese occasioned by a similar vessel in the late 
war, he closely examined every part of her on his pas- 
sage down ; and while passing around among the men, 
he scattered his gold and silver with the most princely 
hberality. The boat arrived before the town of Victo- 
ria on Thursday evening, and his excellency received a 
salute from the guns of the batteries and from the ships 
of war in the harbor, which was returned after the 
Chinese custom. His excellency landed amidst the 
roaring of cannon and the strains of martial music, and 
was conveyed in a splendid palanquin to the house 
which had been fitted up with great care, for his recep- 
tion ; and where, during the remainder of the evening, 
all the public functionaries and grandees of Hong Kong 
paid their respects to their illustrious visitor. 

On Friday evening Keying and his suite. Lord Coch- 
ran, Lord Seymour, with all the grandees of the place, 
dined at the house of Sir John Francis Davies, the 
governor of Hong Kong, and from the representations 
of an eye witness, the evening wound up with a bac- 
chanalian revel. Towards the close of the following 
day, a review of the British troops on the island, was to 
take place, and Keying was to appear in public, and 
give an opportunity for those to see him who were not 
allowed to mingle in the gay saloons of lords, knights, 
and barons. 

They were not disappointed in their expectations ; for 
as the high mountains of Hong Kong began to cast a 
cooling shade upon the city of Victoria, Keying and his 
suite were carried in sedan chairs to the house of Sir 
John Francis Davies, and soon after both their excellen- 
cies, with their attendants, accompanied by the Rev. 
Charles Gutslaff, as Chinese interpreter, repaired to a 
high bank beside the road, and located themselves upon 
it for the purpose of reviewing the troops as they were 
marched before them. We had the good fortune to 
place ourselves within a few feet of the bank, where we 
had a fine view of this titled group, as also of the sol- 
diers. The latter consisted of two regiments, one of 



264 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

Irish, and one of Sepoys, from India, numbering about 
two thousand in all. They were marched after two 
splendid bands of music, and from the strict discipline 
manifest in their manoeuvres, as well as from the won 
derful display of gunnery with which the review ter 
minated, doubtless Keying was impressed with a sense 
of the superiority of the tactics of British soldiers ovei 
those of his imperial master. 

At seven o'clock in the evening their excellencies, 
with their suites, the officers of the army, and others 
entitled to the distinguished privilege, repaired on board 
the line of battle ship Agincourt, to dine with the admi- 
ral. Lord Seymour. Dinner, as usual among the Eng- 
lish on such occasions, was followed with music and 
dancing, but it was said that an English lady refused to 
dance with Keying, which so chagrined his excellency 
that it was thought proper to break up the party at an 
early hour. 

On the Sabbath, Gov. Davies, Keying, and their suite, 
accompanied by the Rev. Charles Gutslaff, performed 
on a small English steamboat, a voyage of pleasure 
around the island of Hong Kong. Perhaps Gov. Davies 
was influenced thus to desecrate the Holy Sabbath by 
the examples set him by some of the lords and dukes of 
England, who have been in the habit of using the Lord's 
day for their public dinners; but, be this as it may, such 
a course of conduct by the authorities of a colony pro- 
fessedly Christian, in such a country as China, is not only 
a public outrage upon Christianity itself, but is directly 
calculated to destroy the good effects of years of mis- 
sionary labor. While the servants of God in China are 
endeavoring to impress the people with a sense of the 
sacredness of the Holy Sabbath, the public authorities, 
sanctioned by the presence of Rev. Charles Gutslaff, by 
thus openly desecrating the day, do much to nullify all 
that missionaries can possibly do. If the above were 
a solitary instance of a violation of the day in this public 
manner, the evil influence resulting from it, would per- 
haps soon die away. But the Sabbath is scarcely known 
in Hong Kong, judging from external appearances. All 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 265 

ranks, from the governor downvi^ards, habitually profane 
the holy day; while the public w^orks, such as the erec- 
tion of government buildings and fortifications, are pros- 
ecuted on the Sabbath the same as on other days. This 
is a source of great grief to the missionaries in this part 
of China, and may be regarded as one of the greatest 
obstacles in the way of success, with which every mis- 
sionary to this country must come in contact. True, 
English service, in a most sickly manner, is performed 
twice on the Sabbath, but there are but few who attend 
regularly, while the vast majority of English and other 
foreigners at Hong Kong, use the Lord's day as a day 
of business or recreation. 

December 10th. Dined at eight o'clock in the evening 
with the Rev. Charles GutslafF, who is now a resident 
of Hong Kong, having recently received an appointment 
from the Colonial Government as Chinese Secretary. 
Perhaps there are few men in the world who have 
excited more interest in a missionary point of view, than 
this reverend gentleman. He is a Prussian by birth, is 
about fifty-five years of age, and has been in China thirty 
years, most of which have been employed in missionary 
labors in various parts of the empire. Though he has 
lost much of his influence as a Christian minister, both 
among the natives and foreigners, yet he is laboring to 
sustain himself as a missionary in the country, as well 
as a civilian. 

He informed me that twenty-five native preachers 
who belonged to a society which he had organized for 
the propogation of the gospel in China, came to him for 
counsel and direction in their work; and that they were 
circulating through every part of the Chinese Empire, 
and were preaching from ten to fifteen sermons each per 
day. After the death of John Morrison, Jr., who filled 
the office of Chinese Secretary for a few years, Gutslaff", 
from his thorough knowledge of the different dialects of 
the Chinese language, was appointed to this lucrative 
station. His salary is £1500 sterling per annum, con- 
siderably more than that of the Vice President of the 
United States, while the salary of the Governor of the 



266 VOYAGE TO CHlNAc 

little petty colony of Hong Kong, amounts to three 
times as much as that of the President of our Union. 
Gutslaff appears to have made it one object of his resi- 
dence in China, to accumulate wealth, and it is said that 
his efforts in this respect, have been successful. Report 
affirms that he has £15,000 deposited in the bank of 
Australia which he has accumulated while employed as 
a missionary, and probably some of the prejudice exis- 
ting against him, arises from this circumstance, but it 
would be doing him great injustice not to admit that his 
unwearied labors for the benefit of China have been 
productive of good. In addition to his other labors he 
has recently published a Chinese Dictionary, which, with 
those previously published, will afford missionaries great 
facilities for the acquisition of the language. To form a 
correct estimate of this original character doubtless 
requires a most intimate acquaintance, while a short 
interview with him cannot fail to leave the impression 
upon the mind of the stranger, that the most singular 
compound of the gentleman and the clown, the divine 
and the civihan, the scholar and the novice, the sage and 
the humorist, the christian and the worldling, enters into, 
and forms the character of the Rev. Charles Gutslaff. 

The island of Hong Kong, as the fruits of an unjust 
war, was ceded by China to Great Britain at the close 
of the late unhappy contest, and now constitutes a part 
of that empire upon which it has become the boast of 
her statesmen that the sun never sets. It is very irre- 
gular in its outlines, both as it regards its coast and 
its surface. It is not far from eight miles long, and 
varying in its width from one to four miles. On ap- 
proaching it in a vessel, it presents a very forbidding 
aspect. It rises abruptly from the water, and its most 
elevated points are about three thousand feet above the 
level of the sea. Originally it was one huge mountain 
of granite, but for many ages this primitive rock has 
been decomposing, and the present soil of the island 
consists of decayed granite, with a small portion of 
decomposed vegetable matter. There are several val- 
lies in the island through which meander small brooks^ 



VOYAGE to CHINA. 2^1" 

and being green and fertile, give the name to the island; 
Hong Kong signifying an island of green and fertile 
vallies. 

The city of Victoria, embracing both the Chinese and 
English portions, stretches along the eastern side of the 
island nearly three miles. Its gi'eatest depth is not more 
than one-fourth of a mile, and the abruptness of the 
mountains behind the city, will not admit of extending 
the buildings far in that direction. Though it is but 
about five years since the city was commenced, yet it has 
grown up so rapidly, and contains so many magnificent 
buildings, that one of the learned Chinese Mandarins 
who accompanied Keying, on leaving the place, com- 
posed a poem in honor of the city, in which he entitled 
it "the city of splendid palaces." The city, however, 
is in a very unfinished state, and the sound of the ham- 
mer and trowel is heard in every part of it during seven 
days in a week, and it is therefore rapidly improving; 
and doubtless, from its favorable location, and by the 
assistance of British wealth and influence, it is destined 
to become a place of great commercial importance. 

The population of Hong Kong amounts to about thirty 
thousand persons, most of whom are Chinese. There 
are about four hundred Enghsh residents on the island, 
besides the soldiers, and not more than ten Americans. 
These, with the regiment of Irish soldiers already re- 
ferred to, constitute all the white people embraced in 
this colony. The Chinese population, numbering more 
than twenty-five thousand, are exceedingly industrious 
in their habits, and accomplish a great share of the re- 
taihng business of the city. In consequence of the 
unhealthiness of the climate the English residents have 
fixed themselves here but temporarily, and design, after 
having amassed a fortune, to return to old England to 
enjoy the fruits of their labors. Many of them, how- 
ever, fall victims to the malignant fevers which here 
prevail, and their dreams of worldly aggrandizement 
vanish with their lives. 

The schools of Hong Kong require to be noticed. 
Here are no public schools for the benefit of white 



268 VOYAGE TO CHINA* 

children, consequently they are growing up, as in other 
new colonies, in comparative ignorance. The school 
which is supported by the Morrison Education Society 
is one of great importance to the interests of China, as 
the influence it exerts at present, and the objects it con- 
templates, sufficiently prove. The circumstances which 
led to the formation of the Morrison Education Society, 
was the death of the Rev. Robert Morrison, D. D., who, 
in connection with his unwearied labors as a missionary, 
officiated many years as translator in the service of 
the Hon. East India Company in China. The friends of 
this great and good man in China, having been deeply 
interested in the success of his labors while living, and 
wishing to cherish a grateful remembrance of him when 
dead, resolved to erect a monument worthy to perpetu- 
ate his memory, and calculated to assist in carrying 
forward that work, in the promotion of which he had 
fallen a sacrifice. Dr. Morrison died on the 2d of Au- 
gust, 1834, and on the 9th of November, 1836, the soci- 
ety which took his name, was organized at Canton, 
having a fund of six thousand dollars. 

The objects of the society, as expressed in its consti- 
tution, are, " to improve and promote education in China, 
by schools and other means." Chinese youth were to 
be taught to read and write the English language, in 
connection with their own; and by these means the 
society designed '' to bring within their reach all the 
instruction requisite for their becoming wise, industrious, 
sober and virtuous members of society, fitted in their 
respective stations in life, to discharge well the duties 
which they owe to themselves, their kindred, and their 
God." The trustees of the society designed to employ 
two teachers, one from England, and one from the Uni- 
ted States, and made application accordingly. From 
England they received no reply, but a favorable one 
from the States, and on the 23d of February, 1839, Rev. 
Mr. and Mrs. Brown, from Massachusetts, arrived in 
China, but the war immediately breaking out, rendered 
it necessary for them to take up their residence at 
Macao. Here, by the advice of the trustees, Mr. Brown 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 269 

commenced operations^ but the Chinese were so slow in 
appreciating the effort, that in September, 1841, the 
school numbered but thirteen scholars. 

Catholic influence, and Chinese exclusiveness, rendered 
Macao almost as undesirable a location for the school, as 
Canton; and as Hong Kong had fallen into the hands of 
the British, application was made to Sir Henry Pottinger, 
her British Majesty's plenipotentiary, for the privilege 
of locating the school on that island. 

This application resulted in the appropriation of a hill 
which overlooks the city of Victoria, as the location for 
the buildings, and which from that time has been known 
as '* Morrison Hill." Extensive buildings were immedi- 
ately erected, the number of the pupils increased, an 
assistant teacher employed, and from that time the 
school has been progressing in every way correspondent 
to the expectations of its warmest friends. At present 
the school numbers thirty students, all boys, and many 
of them have made great improvement. A circum- 
stance which was related to me by Mr. Brown, shows 
in what light the Chinese first viewed the school, and 
the influence it is beginning to exert. An aged Chinese, 
who had finally consented to send three of his boys to 
the school, observed one day to Mr. Brown, *' we could 
not at first understand why a foreigner should wish to 
feed and instruct our children for nothing. We thought 
there must be some sinister motive at the bottom of it. 
Perhaps it was to entice them away from their parents 
and country, and transport them to some foreign land. 
At all events, it was a mystery. But I understand it 
now. I have had my three sons in your school steadily 
since they entered it, and no harm has happened to them. 
The oldest has been quahfied for the pubhc service as 
interpreter. The other two have learned nothing bad. 
The religion you have taught them, and of which I was 
so much afraid, has made them better. I myself believe 
its truth, though the customs of my country forbid my 
embracing it. I have no longer any fears — you labor for 
other's good, not your own." 

Preparations have recently been made for the en- 



270 VOVAGfi TO CHINA. » 

largement of the school ; as many more had applied for 
admission during the last year, than could possibly be 
accommodated. A fortunate appropriation of fourteen 
thousand dollars to the institution, with a recent sub- 
scription of several thousand dollars more, will enable 
the trustees suitably to enlarge it, and to place it upon a 
firm basis. 

The above appropriation was made by the persons 
who had the settlement of the estate of the lamented J. 
R. Morrison, son of the late Dr. Robert Morrison. 

That gentleman, while living, was deeply interested 
in the welfare of the school, and it was thought proper, 
by those upon whom it devolved to dispose of his pro- 
perty, to associate his name with that of his father, by 
bestowing fourteen thousand dollars of his estate upon 
the institution as a permanent fund, and thus to raise a 
noble monument to perpetuate the memory of both of 
these benefactors of the Chinese nation. 

The conductor of this school, the Rev. S. R. Brown, 
is every way entitled to the confidence of the community 
which employs him, and of the Chinese, for whose ben- 
efit he is devoting his life. His interests are blended 
with those of this institution, and his whole soul is en- 
listed to promote its advancement. And, in the rapid 
improvement of the students in the arts and sciences, in 
the correctness of their moral deportment, and in the 
satisfactory evidence which some of them give of genu- 
ine conversion and a qualification for future usefulness, 
he already witnesses the happy results of his labors. 
As this institution was established upon a broad basis, and 
is conducted according to the most enlarged views of 
benevolence, its supporters and directors are among the 
benefactors of mankind. 

There are two churches in Hong Kong, which have 
been erected for the accommodation of foreigners ; one 
of which is the " Union Chapel," and the other is an 
Episcopalian church. In the former, the missionaries 
officiate alternately, and the latter is supplied by the 
chaplains from the army and navy. Some of these 
latter divines, after spending Saturday evening in card 



• VOYAGE TO CHLVA, 271 

playing and wine drinking, will enter the sacred desk on 
Sunday, and preach, not as messengers of God, bat as 
*'one that playeth skillfully on an instrument" — and 
their hearers, as destitute of religion as themselves, will 
flatter their vanity by informing them that they have 
preached an admirable sermon. A few of these chaplains, 
however, are evangelical men, and when they preach, 
they hesitate not '' to decalre the whole counsel of God." 
It fell to the lot of one of these to preach on a Sabbath 
when a number of the great men of the island were 
present ; and knowing the viciousness of their charac- 
ters, hke a man of God he enforced upon them the 
important truth, that, ''without hohness, no man shall 
see the Lord." At the close of his sermon he was 
informed by the general of the army that his "preach- 
ing was not acceptable ; that they came to church to be 
comforted, not to be condemned to hell." 

After the island of Hong Kong had been wrested 
from the Chinese by the English, the missionaries in 
this part of China, generally collected at this place. 
Formerly, Macao was the only place where foreigners 
with their families could reside. But as Macao was 
under papal influence, and Canton was yet inaccessible, 
Hong Kong was judged to be the most proper place for 
the establishment of the missions. Accordingly, mis- 
sionaries of the London Missionary Society, and also of 
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
Missions, and the Baptist Foreign Board, fixed their 
residences in this place. They built their dwelling 
houses, churches, and school-houses for the Chinese, 
with the design of constituting this place the center of 
their operations. 

Some of these buildings were quite expensive, espe- 
cially the mission house of the American Board. 

At the conclusion of the war. Hong Hong becoming 
English ground, and Canton accessible to missionaries 
and their families, all the American missionaries resolved 
at once to abandon the former, and establish themselves 
in the latter place. This subjected them to a great pe- 



1272 VOYAGE TO CHINA. * 

cuniary loss in the buildings and other property, which 
they were obliged to sacrifice at Hong Kong. But they 
considered it to be their duty to enter the opening which 
British cannon had made into China, beheving that the 
advantages, in a missionary point of view, of a location 
in Canton, would more than counterbalance all the pecu- 
niary losses to which such a course would subject them. 

Consequently, Dr. Bridgeman, Dr. Parker, and Dr. 
Ball, of the A. B. C. F. M., and Dr. Devan, of the 
Baptist Board, have retired from Hong Kong, and have 
taken up their residence in the Provincial city. Whether 
they have acted wisely, remains to be decided ; but be 
this as it may, the three or four Chinese houses of wor- 
ship which they erected at Hong Kong, are nearly 
deserted, and the fruits of their labors are rapidly 
disappearing. 

Dr. Legg and Mr. Gallaspie, of the London Mission- 
ary Society, are establishing themselves permanently in 
Hong Kong. Dr. Legg, however, is now on a visit to 
England, but designs to return and resume his labors in 
this place. They have recently erected a large and 
splendid mission house, which appears from a distance 
more hke the palace of a prince, than the house of the 
humble missionary. They have here collected a school 
of boys, whom they are endeavoring to instruct, and, 
though the fruits of their labors are tardy in exhibiting 
themselves, yet, by various means, such as the printing 
of books in Chinese, and preaching by their Chinese 
assistants, they are casting their bread upon the waters, 
and are expecting to be able to gather it after mayiy 
days. 

It is difficult to tell what amount of good has been 
accomplished by missionary labor in Hong Kong, doubt- 
less much more than the enemies of missions are willing 
to admit. But it is evident the work at this point, as well 
as in some other portions of the mission field, has been 
greatly injured by the publication of reports furnished 
by missionaries of too flaming a character. Missionary 
reports always return to the places they are designed to 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 273 

represent, and if they are not strictly true, they always 
create prejudice against the cause they are designed to 
promote. 

The .climate of Hong Kong is very unsalubrious, 
particularly during the prevalence of the south-west 
monsoons. 

The monsoons are winds which blow one-half of the 
year from the south-west, and the other half from the 
north-east. The north-east monsoon prevails during our 
fall * and winter months, and while it continues, the 
island is .(!bnsidered a comparatively healthy location ; 
but after the winds set in from the south-west, the 
atm.osphere becomes exceedingly oppressive. The heat 
of the sun becomes almost unendurable, and both natives 
and foreigners enter into every possible precaution to 
guard against the deleterious effects of the sun's burning 
rays. 

Notwithstanding the extreme care exercised by fo- 
reigners to preserve health, this cHmate proves fatal to 
many of them. It is pecuHarly debilitating to the female 
constitution, and a number of the wives of missionaries, 
have here fallen as martyrs in their work. The Hong 
Kong fever has become notorious wherever the name 
of the place is known ; and while all who come to this 
country are more or less exposed to this most malignant 
of all fevers, perhaps the soldiers quartered here are the 
greatest sufferers. Such is the astonishing mortality 
that reigns among them, that it is necessary to reinforce 
them annually with a fresh regiment from home, in 
order to keep ready for effective service one thousand 
men. Indeed, in view of the unhealthiness of its climate, 
Hong Kong is no desirable place of residence for 
foreigners, and there are but two motives sufficiently 
powerful to induce either Europeans or Americans to 
continue here a great length of time : These are the. 
love of money and the love of souls. 

Having heard much concerning the soldiers' burying 

ground, on the 14th of December, curiosity led us to 

take a walk over this depository of the dead. About 

one milfe arid a half from the town, the old barracks 

12 



274 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

were situated, where the soldiers were quartered imme- 
diately after the conclusion of the China war, and 
during the unhoalthy part of the season. 

But a few score of them had fallen before the prowess 
of their Chinese enemies, but while quietly lying in their 
barracks, and recounting the victories they had won, 
they were attacked by an enemy before whom kings turn 
pale, and the valor of the bravest soldier falters. 

The Hong Kong fever brought death into the war- 
riors' camp, and during the short period of six weeks, 
more than five hundred men were laid in the dust by 
this fearful scourge. 

Walking in company with our friend Rev. Rowland 
Reese, we came to the ground where these half a thou- 
sand, together with several hundred, who had died 
previously, were buried, and the first thing that attracted 
our attention was the coflin of a small child, which lay 
partly embedded in the ground, its lid broken off", and 
disclosing some of the bones of the infant which the 
hungry dogs of the Chinese, in robbing the coflin, had 
allowed to remain. In viewing this, we recollected that 
British soldiers were sometimes allowed to take their 
wives and children with them, and they are consequently 
liable to share the fate of the soldier. Going a little 
farther, we found ourselves surrounded with cofiins on 
every side, some of them partly covered, others entirely 
above ground, and many of them robbed of their con- 
tents by hungry dogs and swine, while ghastly skulls 
and other bones lay bleaching far and near. Our hearts 
sickened while we looked around upon this modern Gol- 
gotha, and we fancied we heard from the numerous 
skeletons which whitened the ground around us, the 
bitterest imprecations uttered against that cruel w^ar 
system, which was relentless in its claims upon them 
while living, and in death cast them beyond the common 
sympathies of humanity. 

We left this scene of desolation, indulging the reflec- 
tion that those great ones- of the earth, who, from 
motives of ambition and cupidity, entail so much misery 
upon their fellow inen as results from the practice of 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 275 

war, will have a fearful account to render at the bar of 
God. Surely, thought we, this is the glory which mul- 
titudes who enter the field of strife, secure to themselves; 
they die like the brute, and are denied the rights of 
sepulture, but an eternal weight of glory awaits every 
christian warrior. 

During our stay at Hong Kong we became acquainted 
with several Wesleyan Methodists from England. Some 
of them are soldiers in the army, and when there has 
been a sufficient number of them, they have formed 
themselves into classes, and as far as their circumstances 
would permit, they have in other respects enjoyed the 
institutions of Methodism. The Rev. Rowland Reese, 
who resides at Hong Kong, and has been for several 
years in the employ of the government, as a civil engi- 
neer, is a local preacher from England, and takes a very 
decided stand in the place where he lives in favor of 
that form of Christianity called Methodism, which he 
considers to be not only the purest in the world, but 
the most efficient in its '•''modus operandiy 

Under this conviction, he has frequently addressed the 
British Conference on the subject of sending missionaries 
to China, proposing to give towards the support of one, 
one hundred dollars per year, though his income is quite 
limited. He has at length gained an assurance from 
the president of the conference, that measures have 
been taken to grant his request, and he is now looking 
for the arrival of the missionaries. He appears to be 
an excellent brother, and is certainly entitled to the 
blessing of those who entertain strangers. 

Our continuance at Hong Kong was four weeks, three 
of which we spent at the house of Mr. Reese. Though 
the expense of living at Hong Kong is great, yet this 
truly benevolent man furnished us with all the comforts 
his house affi^rded, without money and without price. 

On the 15th of December we took leave of our newly 
formed acquaintance at Hong Kong, and taking what 
the Chinese call a "fast boat," proceeded through a 
perfect labyrinth of islands, across the mouth of Pearl 
river to the city of Macao, the distance of thirty miles. 



276 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

It was late in a very dark evening when we arrived in 
the inner harbor, and as our baggage must all pass 
through the Custom House on landing, we must neces- 
sarily leave it in the care of the Chinese on the boat, 
during the night, as there were no conveniences for our 
continuing on board. This arranged, we committed 
ourselves to the guidance of the captain of the boat, 
having given him the name of the individual whom we 
wished to find, and by the way of a narrow avenue, on 
each side of which the towering walls of the buildings 
were rendered scarcely visible by the glimmerings of a 
Chinese lantern, we entered the densely populated city 
of Macao. Winding along the crooked lanes, and tra- 
veling as fast as we could for thirty minutes or more, 
we at length entered a gloomy mansion, situated near 
the centre of the city, where our guide told us our friend 
lived. 

Here we were cordially welcomed by the Rev. Dr. 
Happer, a missionary of the Presbyterian Board, who 
had kindly invited us to make his house our home while 
we desired to remain in the city. 

Dr. Happer has been in China but little more than one 
year, and consequently has not made a great impression. 
He has established a school of twenty-five Chinese boys, 
and is teaching them the English language, while a 
person employed for that purpose is instructing him in 
the Chinese. He feels encouraged to prosecute his 
work, though the prospect of accomplishing much, is 
dark before him. 

Macao is a Portuguese town, containing forty thou- 
sand inhabitants, thirty-five thousand of whom are Chi- 
nese, and five thousand Portuguese. Of the latter there 
are but a few hundred native Portuguese, they being 
mostly of the half-caste population. The Portuguese 
pay an annual tribute to China for the privilege of 
remaining here, and indeed Macao is under the control 
of the Chinese, though for purposes of mutual advantage, 
the Portuguese have been allowed to continue in posses- 
sion. 

The Portuguese first established themselves here more 



VOYAGE to CHINA. 277 

than three hundred years ago, and during the first hun- 
dred years, Popish missionaries from this point, had 
penetrated into every part of the Chinese Empire, even 
into the very palace of the Emperor himself. But, inter- 
meddling with the affairs of government, the priests vrere 
banished from Pekin. This checked the prosperity of 
the Papists, and though unw^earied efforts have be^n 
made ever since that time to establish Popery perma- 
nently in the Empire, yet they have resulted in giving it 
but a doubtful footing. 

Macao, how^ever, being under the domination of 
Portugal, is papistical in its character, and contains 
several splendid cathedrals and convents; and the priests, 
from the snowy-headed '' padre " down to the boy of 
ten years, may be seen perambulating the streets in 
every part of the city, almost without number. Here 
CathoHcism exists in its grandeur and magnificence, as 
well as in its disgusting forms and nameless mummeries. 
But it may be remarked, in favor of the Cathohcs of 
Macao, that they are more tolerant in their principles 
and practice than any other Catholics in the world. 
During the celebration of high mass on Christmas eve, 
we took the opportunity of visiting three of the most 
splendid churches in the city, and in neither of them 
were we obliged to kneel, even at the elevation of the 
Sacred Host. 

During the short but sanguinary contest betwixt the 
English and Chinese, Macao, as a matter of course, 
remained neutral; and as a consequence of the war, and 
during the short period of six years, she made more 
rapid improvements than ever before : but when the 
articles of peace were signed under her walls, the death 
blow was given to her prosperity. 

English capital and English influence have already 
placed her rival. Hong Kong, or Victoria, far above 
her in point of wealth and commercial importance, 
though it is but five years since the latter sprang into 
being ; whereas Macao boasts of an antiquity of more 
than three hundred years. The houses of some parts 
of Macao are built after the European style, though the 



278 VOYAGE TO OHINA. 

streets are very narrow and dirty, v^hile in some places, 
as you pass along, the buildings present the appearance 
of dismal prisons. Other parts of the city are peculiarly 
Chinese, and these are by far the most extensive, and 
give one a very correct idea of the large cities of the 
Chinese Empire. 

There are a number of places of interest in and about 
the city of Macao, vrhich, from the satisfaction a visit to 
them is calculated to afford, are well worthy the atten- 
tion of travelers. The first in order is that of the Grand 
Prior. 

The portion of the city around the Grand Prior, on 
landing from the outer harbor, is the most interesting 
part of the Portuguese division of the town. It is built 
round the borders of the beautiful bay which constitutes 
the harbor in the form of a semi-circle, and the Prior 
forms an elegant promenade, not only for all the fashion 
and elite of the town, but for all such as desire to enjoy 
the invigorating breeze which comes in from the bosom 
of the Chinese Sea. Here may be seen almost every 
day, Portuguese, Englishmen, Frenchmen, Spaniards, 
Americans, Germans, Chinese, Indians, Parsees, Hawai- 
ians, &c., mingling in one common troop along this 
beautiful Prior, and all apparently delighted with the 
surrounding scenery. 

Passing from the Prior to the north, partly through 
the town, you come to a second place of interest, which 
is the Bazaar, or market, of the city. This is situated 
in the Chinese portion of the town, and contains all 
kinds of fruits, vegetables, and provisions peculiar to the 
country. Among the fruits, oranges and bannanas are 
the most prominent kinds; the former being more abun- 
dant than apples in New York, and four large fresh 
oranges can be procured for one cent. One is astonished 
in passing through the Bazaar to see the immense variety 
of meats, fish and fowl, with which it abounds. In 
addition to the common kinds, such as beef, pigs, mutton, 
capons, geese and ducks, may be found an astonishing 
variety, among which dogs, cats, rats and frogs, are 
the most prominent. These may be had either alive, 



iL 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 270 

dressed, or cooked, so that the most fastidious can easily 
be accommodated. 

The Chinese Heathen Temple, situated within the 
precincts, and at the east end of the city, is another object 
of curiosity to all strangers who visit this part of China. 
This temple was principally hewn out of the solid rock, 
and its appearance reminds one of the Bible accounts 
of the idolatrous practices of the nations of antiquity; 
several majestic banyan trees extending over it their huge 
branches, cast a sombre shade upon its different depart- 
ments, while its walls of blackened granite, and the 
hideous images which appear on every hand, as the 
gloomy nature of the worship there paid to heathen 
gods, are calculated to make impressions upon the mind 
of the beholder at once solemn and affecting. Here w^e 
witnessed, for the first time, the priests of Budha in hum.- 
ble prostration before their idols, and while witnessing 
their devotions, our fervent ejaculations were ascending 
to heaven that the long night of death which has reigned 
over them, unbroken, may soon pass away, and the de- 
votees of this cruel system of idolatry, become the 
true worshipers of the living God. 

There are several beautiful gardens within the walls 
of the city, among which the Casser Garden, at the 
western end of the city, is the most popular as a place 
of resort. 

This is celebrated on account of the beauty of its 
shaded walks, the variety of the plants and shrubbery 
by which it is adorned, the enchanting nature of its 
scenery, but principally from its containing within its 
enclosure the celebrated grotto known by the name of 
Camoen's Cave. 

This cave procured its cognomen from the following 
circumstance : Camoen was appointed by the crown of 
Portugal to an important office in the colony of Macao, 
and while residing in this place, he spent a great share 
of his time in the solitude of this cave. It was here 
that this most celebrated of all Portuguese poets com- 
posed his " Lusiad," a poem which has rendered his 
name immortal. The cave is interesting as a natural 



^80 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

curiosity, out it has been materially injured by an at- 
tempt to adorn and beautify it by artificial works. It 
contains a bust of the celebrated man who has given it 
a name that it will probably bear to the end of time. In 
connection with this it might be proper to observe that 
after he left Macao, Camoen and his manuscript poems 
were both singularly and providentially preserved from 
unmerited obhvion. The vessel in which he sailed from 
Macao, was wrecked in the Chinese Sea ; fortunately, 
however, not a great distance from the shore. When it 
appeared evident that the vessel was lost, and there 
being no other means of saving himself, forgetting every 
thing else as comparatively worthless, he seized his man- 
uscript in one hand, and cast himself into the sea. 
Presently, the few who had gained the shore before 
him, discovered Camoen struggling in the briny element, 
and bearing in one hand above the surface of the agi- 
tated waters, the poem that was destined to give him an 
earthly immortality. At length a fortunate wave came 
to his* assistance, and he was borne in triumph to the 
shore, happy that, with the loss of his wealth, he had 
saved what he esteemed of infinitely more value, the 
instrument which was destined to attach to his memory 
an enviable and enduring fame. 

There are also a number of eminences in and about 
the place, which overlook the entire town and harbor, 
and which are very strongly fortified. Some of the 
guns by which the battlements are mounted, are of 
astonishing calibre, and bear date as ancient as 1625. 

From the hill on which the " Central Fort " is built, 
the view of the city, harbor, roads, and the adjacent 
islands, is sufficiently interesting to pay one for the labor 
of chmbing to its summit. From this spot was pointed 
out to us the precise place where the English and Chi- 
nese embassadors signed the preliminaries of peace at 
the conclusion of the late war. On the ramparts of the 
" Central Fort " I counted fifty of the engines of death 
ready to pour ruin upon invading foes. 

Having visited every thing of interest in and around 
the city of Macao, we prepared to take our leave; de- 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 28) 

siring to spend as many days in Canton before embark- 
ing for the United States, as we possibly could. We 
had received a pressing invitation from Dr. Devan, a 
missionary of the Baptist Board, resident in Canton, to 
make his house our home so long as we desired to re- 
main in the place. Accordingly, on Wednesday, the 
7th of January, accompanied by Mrs. Hooper, one of 
our fellow passengers on the Leland, we embarked on a 
*' fast boat," and with a fresh breeze proceeded up the 
Ca.nton river. 

These " fast boats " are always manned by Chinese, 
and, though differing from any other water craft which 
I have seen in any other part of the world, are quite 
comfortable for the conveyance of passengers; and as 
they are propelled by oars when the wind does not serve, 
they usually perform their passages with considerable 
dispatch; passengers always furnishing themselves with 
bed and board. 

It was near sundown when we left the Grand Prior, 
and before we had proceeded far, darkness had shut 
from our view all surrounding objects, and reposing on 
the beds we had spread for our temporary use, we fell 
asleep, and the next morning found ourselves above the 
Bogue, or Bona Tigris, and gliding along past the vil- 
lages, paddy fields, and Pagodas, by which the banks of 
the river are adorned. Before passing Whampoa, we 
stopped a few moments along side the Leland, which 
had already commenced receiving her cargo, and leaving 
some of our baggage on board, we proceeded on through 
the multitude of boats which thronged the river, and 
which seemed to multiply in a ten-fold proportion as we 
approximated the " Provincial City." It was nearly 
dark when we arrived off the place of landing, and we 
found the wharf so thronged with boats that it was im- 
possible for us to approach it nearer than fifty yards. 
We began to fear that we should be under the necessity 
of spending the night on the boat ; no very comfortable 
prospect in view of the piratical propensities of the 
thousands by which we were surrounded. And as for 
confusion, Babel itself could not have presented a worse 
12* 



S&3 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

state. However, I hastened to dispatch a short note to 
Dr. Devan, by one of the officers of the boat, and for- 
tunately the note found him. At eight o'clock he and 
his most amiable wife gave us a hearty welcome at their 
house, which is situated in one of the densest portions 
of the suburbs of the great city of Canton, and on one 
of the principal avenues leading to one of the gates of 
the city proper. 

Here we are then, brought by a succession of favora- 
ble providences, and placed in the midst of the great 
and wonderful city of Canton. Every thing surrounding 
us is new and striking. The people, the costume, the 
buildings, the streets, and every thing the eye beholds, 
present an aspect totally different from any thing exist- 
ing in any other portion of the world; and to give a 
minute and intelligible description of the almost infinite 
variety which this one city presents to the view of the 
stranger, if it were possible to accomplish it, would re- 
quire volumes, and cannot therefore be expected in this 
journal. It will be impossible even to carry out the 
design of the traveler to Rome, who observed that he 
should ''give a description of the Rome which he saw;" 
but it must suffice the reader to be introduced to a few 
subjects important to be understood, and interesting to 
contemplate relating to the celebrated city of Canton. 

The Chinese write the name of their city, Kwang- 
tung Sang Ching, " chief city of the province of Kwang- 
tung," but in conversation they usually call it " Sang 
Ching," the " Provincial City." Doubtless Canton is a 
corruption of Kwangtung. This city is situated on the 
north side of the Choo Keang, or Pearl river, and 
about sixty miles from the great sea. It is in the twenty- 
third degree of north latitude, and one hundred and 
thirteenth east longitude from Greenwich. 

The scenery around the city, though beautiful, and to 
some extent diversified, presents nothing bold or roman- 
tic. On the north and north-east sides, distant a few 
miles, may be seen a range of hills or mountains, but 
in every other direction the prospect is unobscured. 
The rivers, channels and canals, are very numerous, 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 283 

and are covered with a vast variety of boats, which are 
continually passing to and from the neighboring towns 
and villages. Southward the water covers nearly one- 
fourth of the whole surface. Paddy fields and gardens 
occupy the low lands, and occasionally may be seen little 
hills and groves of trees rising here and there, to diver- 
sify the scene. 

Canton is one of the most ancient cities in the world, 
at least among those that have survived the revolutions 
of time. We have pretty satisfactory evidence that it 
existed several hundred years before the Christian era, 
and, according to Chinese classics, one of the ancient 
emperors, four thousand years ago, commanded one of 
his ministers to repair to the southern country, and 
govern the city, which was then called the Splendid 
Capital, and the country surrounding it. If this be true, 
a large city occupied the site of the present city of 
Canton more than one hundred and fifty years before 
the time of Abraham, 

The city of Canton may be considered as divided into 
two parts; the city proper, or that portion within the 
walls, and the portion without the walls, or the suburbs, 
which differs in its buildings, streets and extent of popu- 
lation, very little from that within the walls. That part 
of the city enclosed by a wall is built nearly in the form 
of a square, and is divided into two parts by a wall 
running from east to west. 

The northern, which is the largest part, is called the 
old city, and the southern, the new city. The entire 
circuit of the wall, including both divisions of the city 
within, is variously estimated at from six to eight Eng- 
lish miles. The walls rise nearly perpendicularly, and 
vary in height from twenty-five to forty feet. They are 
about twenty feet thick, and are composed of stone and 
brick. A line of battlements is raised on the top of 
the walls at intervals of a few feet around the whole 
city. Leading through the outside wall are twelve gates 
bearing different names, some of which are very signifi- 
cant : Wooseen Mun is " the gate of the five genii." 
Yungtsing Mun is " the gate of eternal purity." This 



284 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

is the gate that leads to the place where criminals are 
publicly decapitated. Yungan Mun is ^' the gate of 
eternal rest." At each of the gates a few soldiers are 
stationed to watch them by day, and close and guard 
them by night. 

The principal part of the suburbs are situated on the 
south and west sides of the city. They are much less 
extensive on the east than on the west; and on the north 
there are very few buildings, owing probably to the fact 
that the city proper in that direction extends on to the 
sides of a range of hills. This fact is poetically ex- 
pressed by a Chinese writer, who observes that, on the 
north ^' the city rests on the brow of a hill." 

It is said by good authority that there are from six 
hundred to a thousand streets in the city of Canton. 
Some of them are long, but most of them are short and 
crooked. The broadest street in Canton is sixteen feet 
wide, and there are hundreds not more than two feet. 
These are all flagged with stones, mostly large granite 
slabs. 

It will be impossible to give any idea of the immense 
motley crowd that daily throngs these narrow lanes. 
The stout, half-naked, vociferating coolies, bearing every 
description of merchandise on their backs, the noisy 
sedan-bearers, together with the numerous travelers, 
retailers, pedlars, barbers, tinkers, beggars, &c., presents 
a scene before the spectator which puts all his powers 
of description at defiance. 

In the suburbs, near the south-west corner of the city, 
are situated the foreign factories, of which there are 
thirteen. They occupy a plot of ground extending 
sixty rods from east to west, and forty from north to 
south. The factories present a very firm and substantial 
appearance, being but two stories high, and with the 
exception of two narrow streets, forming one solid 
block, each factory extending in length, the whole 
breadth of the block. They are ownod by the Chinese 
Hong merchants, and are occupied by the Dutch, Eng- 
lish, Swedes, Americans, French and Danes. The 
different factories may be distinguished by the flags of 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 285 

their respective nations, which constantly wave over 
them. 

In the afternoon of Friday, the 9th, Dr. Devan pro- 
posed to conduct Mrs. H. and myself to those parts of 
the city where it was safe for ladies to go, with which 
we readily acquiesced, as we desired to learn as much 
as we possibly could concerning one of the great cities 
of the Celestial Empire. It is but a short time since 
foreign females have been allowed to approach nearer 
to the city of Canton than Macao. The ladies are 
indebted to the bloody gallantry of British soldiers, for 
the privilege of walking the crowded streets of this 
wonderful city. But even now, though the recent trea- 
ties with other nations provide for such a privilege, yet 
a very large portion of the wealthy Chinese population 
are violently opposed to foreigners penetrating far into 
the city, especially to pass through the gates. Notwith- 
standing this, according to arrangement, we set off on 
our tour, first taking the hongs and the factories, where 
the foreign merchants, and the missionaries of the A. B. 
C. F. M. reside. After calhng on some of the latter, 
we continued on some half mile or more direct towards 
one of the gates opening into that part of the city, yet 
too sacred to be polluted by the feet of barbarians. As 
we penetrated farther and farther into the city, beyond 
the common walks of foreigners, it was astonishing to 
us to observe the great curiosity that was excited among 
the countless multitudes of Chinese through which we 
passed, by the appearance of a foreign lady walking by 
the side of a gentleman, in the thronged avenue, where 
never a Chinese lady is allowed to go except as carried 
by her servants, inclosed in her palanquin. We could 
not stop for a single moment for fear of being so 
thronged as not to be able to extricate ourselves, but 
found it necessary to urge ourselves onward as fast as 
we possibly could walk, while the excited mass poured 
after us in wild confusion, and every now and then a 
stalwart form rushing through the crowd, would thrust 
himself before us for the purpose of getting one fair 



^ 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 



peep into the face of a foreign lady before she had 
passed beyond their reach. 

At length we came to what Dr. Devan told us was 
the gate of the city proper, but we did not dare to enter 
it, nor even to stop near it, such was the excitement 
that prevailed wherever we appeared ; but casting a 
passing look within the walls, we continued walking for 
an hour, until we had explored a number of the princi- 
pal streets, and at almost every step we were saluted 
by the name of " Fan-qui," (barbarian), and some times 
Dr. Devan told us they would call us '' evil spirits." 

Before closing our perambulations, we visited the 
Ningpoo Exchange, which is a famous building, so far 
up in the city that strangers seldom visit it. It contains 
almost countless apartments, and at every turn and 
corner is placed a brazen idol before which the smoke of 
burning incense is continually rising. In this Exchange 
a vast amount of business is performed by commercial 
men from all parts of China. Impressed with the 
novelty of every thing we had witnessed, we returned 
to Dr. De van's in safety, and on Saturday, the 10th, 
found ourselves prepared to visit the celebrated Temple 
of Honan. 

This most popular heathen temple in the Province of 
Kwangtung, is situated on the opposite side of the 
Choo-keang river from Canton. Accompanied by our 
friends. Dr. and Mrs. Devan, and a Chinese interpreter, 
we engaged a boatman to row us across the river to this 
splendid " Jos-house " of the Chinese. On entering the 
temple and casting an eye around upon the objects 
within, here, said I, idolatry must appear in its most 
magnificent aspects. As we entered the gateway lead- 
ing to the inner court, there were two colossal figures, 
images of deified warriors, stationed, one on the right 
and the other on the left, to guard the entrance to the 
sacred palaces. Further on we came to the palace of 
the "four great celestial kings," images of ancient 
heroes. Still further on we were conducted along a 
broad pathway to " the great powerful palace." Enter- 



VOYAGE TO CHINA, 5287 

ing this we found ourselves in the presence of '' the 
three precious Budhas/' three stately and magnificent 
images representing the past, the present, and the future 
Budha. The hall or palace where these images are 
placed, is one hundred feet square, and contains nume- 
rous other images of deified heroes, real or imaginary, 
before which altars are erected and incense is kept 
constantly burning. The temple is vast, and the build- 
ings embraced within the sacred inclosures are numerous, 
and contain large numbers of Chinese gods. Some of 
the idols are truly splendid specimens of the works of 
art, and as they are arranged in perfect order around 
the walls of their respective and spacious halls, all of 
bronze work, and measuring from eight to twenty feet 
in height, they present a very imposing appearance. In 
addition to these shining images, there were several 
rough stones pointed out to us as being numbered with 
Chinese gods. 

We were led by our conductor to the apartments 
containing the sacred hogs and geese, and were assured 
that it was an uncommon privilege for strangers to be 
allowed to behold these squalling and grunting divinities. 

In " the great and powerful palace, " which contains 
" the three precious Budhas," is hung a very large brass 
bell, which is used by the priests at the hour of worship 
to wake up the slumbering deities and to call their atten- 
tion to the oblations of their devotees. One of the party, 
taking hold of the huge tongue of the bell, drew it up 
at one side and let it fall back against the other with 
such force as to cause the whole temple to ring wdth its 
vibrations. Some of the priests started back as with 
fear, but so soon as the sound had died away they came 
forward and reproached us for such a gross violation of 
the sanctity of the place. In addition to this we were 
guilty of another sacrilegious act in taking some of the 
incense which was smoking before the idols, and bring- 
ing it away with us ; much, however, to the diversion 
of our Chinese attendants. As it was not the hour of 
worship we did not witness the devotions of the priests, 
but ascertained that at five o'clock, p. M., every day, 



288 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

they celebrate their vespers in the palace of the precious 
Budhas. 

Parallel with each other on the right and left, are long 
lines of apartments, one of which is a printing office, 
and others are used as cells for priests, stalls for pigs 
and fowls, a retreat for " the king of hades," the chief 
priest's room, a dining hall, a kitchen, &c., and beyond 
these is a spacious garden, at the extremity of which 
there is a mausoleum wherein the ashes of burnt priests 
once a year are deposited. Here also was pointed out 
to us a furnace wherein the bodies of dead priests are 
burned, and a little cell where the jars containing their 
ashes are kept until the time for depositing them in the 
mausoleum arrives. 

We ascertained that there were connected with this 
one heathen temple nearly two hundred priests ; and 
judging from the immense expense of sustaining this 
establishment, we could but come to the conclusion that 
it costs China more to support idolatry than all Christen- 
dom pays to propagate the Gospel of the Son of God. 

In connection with this it may be proper to subjoin a 
brief history of the temple of Honan as given by the 
Chinese, and which has been furnished in English by Dr. 
Bridgeman of Canton : "It was originally a private 
garden ; but afterwards, several hundred years ago, a 
priest named Cheyue, built up an establishment which he 
called ' the temple of ten thousand autumns,' and dedi- 
cated it to Budha. It remained an obscure place, how- 
ever, until about a. d. 1600, when a priest of eminent 
devotion, with his pupil Ahtsze, together with a concur- 
rence of extraordinary circumstances, raised it to its 
present magnificence. In the reign of Kanghe, and as 
late as a. d. 1700, the province of Canton was not fully 
subjugated ; and a son-in-law of the emperor was sent 
hither to bring the whole country under his father's 
sway. This he accomplished, received the title of 
' Pingnan-wang, king of the subjugated South,' and 
took up his head quarters in the temple of Honan. There 
were then thirteen villages on the island, which he had 
orders to exterminate for their opposition to the imperial 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. ^89 

forces. Just before carrying into effect this order, the 
king, Pingnan, a blood-thirsty man, cast his eyes on 
Ahtsze, a fat happy priest, and remarked that if he Hved 
on vegetable diet he could not be so fat ; he must be a 
hypocrite, and should be punished with death. He 
drew his sword to execute with his own hand the sen- 
tence ; but his arm suddenly stiffened, and he was 
stopped from his purpose. That night a divine person 
appeared to him in a dream, and assured him that Ahtsze 
was a holy man, adding, *you must not unjustly kill 
him.' Next morning the king presented himself before 
Ahtsze, confessed his crime, and his arm was immediately 
restored. He then. did obeisance to the priest, and took 
him for his tutor and guide ; and morning and evening 
the king waited on the priest as his servant. 

'' The inhabitants of the thirteen villages now heard 
of this miracle, and solicited the priest to intercede 
in their behalf, that they might be rescued from the 
sentence of extermination. The priest interceded, and 
the king Hstened, answering thus : ' I have received 
an imperial order to exterminate these rebels, but since 
you, my master, say they now submit, be it so ; I must, 
however, send the troops round to the several villages, 
before I can report to the emperor ; I will do this, and 
then beg that they may be spared.' The king fulfilled 
his promise, and the villages were saved. Their grati- 
tude to the priest was unbounded ; and estates, and 
incense, and money, were poured in upon him. The 
king, also, persuaded his officers to make donations to 
the temple, and it became affluent from that day. 

'' The temple had then no hall for celestial kings, and 
at the outer gate there was a pool belonging to a rich 
man who refused to sell it, although Ahtsze offered him 
a large compensation. The king, conversing with the 
priest one day, said, ' this temple is deficient, for it has 
no hall for the celestial kings.' The priest replied, 'a 
terrestrial king, please your highness, is the proper per- 
son to rear a pavilion to the celestial kings.' The king 
took the hint, and seized on the pool of the rich man, 
who was now very glad to present it without compen- 



290 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

sation ; and he gave command, moreover, that a paviHon 
should be completed in fifteen days ; but at the priest's 
intercession, the workmen v^^ere allowed one month to 
finish it ; and by laboring diligently night and day, they 
accomplished it in that time." 

Such is the history of the temple of Honan, which is 
said to be the largest and best endowed establishment of 
the kind in this part of China. 

The reader can form some idea of the extent of this 
temple when he is informed that its buildings and gar- 
dens occupy from eight to ten English acres of ground. 
We left this gloomy scene not without indulging the 
hope that the time would come when a church of the 
Hving God would supplant this temple of Budha, and the 
great bell be used to call devout worshipers to the house 
of prayer. 

Sunday, 11th. Attended worship at t!ie house of 
Rev. Dr. Parker, in the morning, and heard a good ser- 
mon by the Rev. Mr. Wood, of the Episcopal church. 
This gentleman recently came from the United States as 
a missionary to the Chinese, but, for reasons doubtless 
satisfactory to himself, he returns home after a residence 
of two months. 

Dr. Parker, in addition to his missionary work, super- 
intends the English service, which is conducted at his 
own house every Sabbath day. 

At two o'clock, p. M., attended Chinese service at 
Dr. Parker's hospital, and heard a celebrated Chinese 
preacher deliver a discourse in the native language. 

This man has officiated as a kind of evangehst among 
the Chinese for several years, and from his ardent zeal, 
and continued sufferings in his work, has given evidence 
of great sincerity. He has been violently persecuted by 
his countrymen at different times, and once was under 
the necessity of flying his country to save his life. 
However, at the present time, he travels wherever he 
pleases, and preaches without molestation. 

At three o'clock, attended Chinese service w4th Dr. 
Devan, in one of the densest portions of the city. The 
flace where the Doctor preaches he calls the " Dispensa- 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 291 

tory." It is about twelve feet square ; opens at one side to 
the street, which is constantly thronged with passers by. 
Occasionally one is attracted by the voice of the preacher, 
and either stops in the street, or walks into the dispen- 
satory, and listens a short time. Very few, however, 
give their attention to a whole discourse. The utmost 
confusion prevailed in front of the dispensatory, or 
preaching-place, while, but from six to ten occupied the 
benches during service, and these were mostly in the 
pay of the missionary, as assistant preachers, teachers, 
or servants. Though an ardent friend of the missionary 
cause, I could but think that, if the labors bestowed here 
were productive of much good, it would certainly be 
against all human probability. Dr. Devan, and all other 
missionaries here, are in the habit of distributing testa- 
ments and other religious books, at the conclusion of 
divine service. 

The missionaries themselves, from the difficulty of 
acquiring the language, preach but little, but are in the 
habit of employing Chinese assistants. Doubtless some 
credit is to be given for the genuineness of the conver- 
sion, and the sincerity of some of these Chinese assistants; 
but from the best information I have been able to obtain, 
I am led to the conclusion that, in China, as well as in 
some other heathen countries, in nine cases out of ten, 
the converts, in identifying themselves with the mission- 
aries, are governed mainly by motives of self interest. 
And, indeed, nearly all of them receive pay from the 
different churches to which they belong. They are gene- 
rally hired as preachers, teachers, tract distributors, or 
servants, and generally relapse into their former habits on 
being dismissed from their employment. In view of 
these things, it is not strange that visitors, and the mer- 
chants that reside at Canton, generally, express it as their 
opinion that the missionary labor performed among the 
Chinese, is entirely useless. But persons forming such 
an opinion, are generally ignorant of that principle which 
stimulates the servant of God to sow his seed in the 
morning, and in the evening not to withhold his hand, 
namely, that faith which believes, even against hope. 



29SJ VOYAGfe TO ciiil^A. 

Monday, 12th. We resumed our exploration of the 
city of Canton. Strangers have not the freedom of the 
city, though there is much more liberty now than 
formerly. However^ up to the present time, foreigners 
venturing too far up into the city, are frequently robbed, 
and ratanned through the streets. The recent treaties 
w^hich other nations have made with China since the 
late war, provided that the city gates should be thrown 
open to foreigners, but as yet the people of Canton are 
violently opposed to such a desecration of their ancient 
customs. Keying, the imperial commissioner and go- 
vernor general of the province of Kwangtung, caused a 
proclamation to be posted up in the city, on the night of 
the 12th, informing the people that the time had come 
when the conditions of the treaty in reference to the 
freedom of the city, must be fulfilled, and cautioning 
the people against molesting any foreigners that were 
disposed to enter within the walls. But the populace, 
supported by a large majority of the wealthy inhabitants 
of the city, on discovering the proclamation on the 
morning of the 13th, tore it down with great violence, 
rent it in pieces, and stamped it in the mud. Another 
proclamation, purporting to be from the wealthy and 
virtuous citizens of Canton, was put up in its place, 
which threatened death to any foreigner who should dare 
to enter within the gates. Notwithstanding the excite- 
ment which these opposing proclamations produced, we 
resolved to improve the short time we had to stay, in 
seeing whatever was interesting, within the undisputed 
range of the barbarians. 

Tuesday, 13th. Visited the ''Fatee," or flower-gar- 
den, on the opposite side of the river, and above the 
temple of Honan. This is a most magnificent garden, 
and the plants are all grown in earthern pots. Here 
are almost an infinite variety of flowers, and several 
kinds of oranges, which are also grown in pots, and 
which line the different alleys, and tempt the visitor to 
violate the rules of the garden, by disburdening the 
loaded plants of some of their golden fruit. The 
Chinese, better than any other nation, perhaps, under- 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 293 

Stand the art of dwarfing trees and plants, and causing 
them to grow in any shape they choose. Here may be 
seen orange trees from one foot to three feet high, 
standing in large earthern pots, and so filled with fruit 
that every expedient possible is entered into to prevent 
them from breaking down. Here, also, is a shrub, in 
appearance similar to the hawthorn, which the Chinese 
cause to grow in the exact shape of a pagoda, a junk, an 
elephant, a bird, or any thing else, according as their 
fancy leads them. Nothing can exceed the regularity 
and beauty of the Fatee, or flower-garden ; and it was 
some hours after we entered, before we were able to 
break away from the charm which the multiflorous 
productions of this delightful garden cast around us. 
Leaving this garden, which the ingenuity of the Chinese 
has rendered so interesting, we re-crossed the Chookeang, 
and visited the palace of Houqua, situated about two 
miles above the city of Canton. The house is splendid, 
purely Chinese, the furniture magnificent, and the walls 
of the rooms adorned with fine Chinese paintings. It 
was in this house where all the recent treaties with 
other nations were signed. 

Wednesday, 14th. Called on Drs. Bridgeman and 
Parker, who are missionaries of the American Board. 
The latter has accepted an appointment under the United 
States' government, as Chinese interpreter, with a salary 
of three thousand dollars per annum. He has been in 
China twelve years; has estabUshed a hospital for the ben- 
efit of the Chinese, and from almost innumerable and suc- 
cessful surgical operations, has earned an enviable repu- 
tation in his adopted country. With the former I had 
considerable conversation concerning the success of 
missionary operations in China, and found him to be any 
thing but sanguine in his expectations, but hoping to see 
the results of his labors after many days. He is not one 
of those fiery spirits, who, from the excitement of the 
moment, are in the habit of blazing forth their high 
wrought accounts of the work of God in heathen lands, 
which frequently recoil back upon their authors, and the 
cause they are designed to represent, much to the injury 



294 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

of both, but he appears to take a sober, candid view of 
the great w^ork in w^hich he is engaged, and reaUzes the 
fearful responsibiUty that rests upon him. He has 
obtained considerable celebrity by pubHshing several 
important Chinese works. In the evening called on Dr. 
Ball, who is likewise a missionary of the American 
Board, and appears to be much devoted to his work. 

Thursday, 15th. Explored various parts of the city 
and found the Chinese very much excited on account 
of the proclamation of Keying, in which he ordered 
that the gates of Canton, which had been closed for 
ages, should, for the first time, be opened to the barba- 
rians of Europe and America. 

There seemed to be a great commotion among the 
populace, and it was anticipated by the foreigners that 
the night would not pass away without some outrage. 
Those^'who are opposed to the order of the governor 
call themselves "patriots," and declare that the barba- 
rians shall not enter their city gates, but the man that 
dares to attempt to pass the sacred inclosure, shall lose 
his head. At midnight a portion of the old city was 
illuminated by the burning of the house of the mayor. 
A mob of more than two thousand gathered around the 
house of this functionary with the design of consuming 
him and his property together. Leaving the house 
through a private passage, he escaped their fury, and in 
a short time all that remained of his princely mansion 
was a heap of smouldering ruins. 

Friday, 16th. The excitement continued to rise, and 
early in the morning the foreign factories, particularly 
those occupied by the English, were invested by vast 
throngs of the angry Chinese, and the English were 
hourly expecting an attack. What contributed to in- 
crease the excitement was, the expected arrival of an 
English steamboat from Hong Kong, to receive the last 
payment of the indemnity. The whole amount of the 
indemnity was twenty millions of dollars, and this last 
payment was two millions. The patriots declare that it 
shall not be paid, and that if the authorities attempt to 
convey it out of the city, they will seize upon the money 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 295 

and burn down the English factories. I was in the 
factories a number of times during the day, and found 
the people preparing for a vigorous defence, expecting 
that they would be attacked the following night, and 
more so in consequence of the approach of the Chinese 
new-year, when the people are exceedingly desirous to 
obtain money, and always become greatly excited. 
About noon we received a letter from the gentlemen to 
whom the Leland was consigned, (Wetmore & Co.), 
advising us, as our vessel would be ready for sea Satur- 
day evening, to join her without delay, for fear an 
immediate outbreak would greatly endanger, if not 
entirely close the communication between Canton and 
Whampoa, where our vessel lay. With much effort, in 
the midst of great excitement, we succeeded in getting 
ready to leave at sundown, and consequently we had 
the pleasure of a night-excursion on the Chookeang 
from Canton to Whampoa, the distance of twelve miles. 

Though there is considerable danger in navigating 
these w^aters in the night time from thieves and pirates, 
which here abound in vast numbers, yet, at ten o'clock 
we arrived along side the Leland without accident, and, 
though we were literally thrust out of the city, yet 
we were glad to find ourselves once more on board the 
vessel destmed to convey us to our native land. 

Sunday, 18th. Had an engagement to preach on 
board the Rainbow that had just arrived from New 
York ; but was prevented from going on account of the 
rain. When vessels are ready for sea, the captains never 
wait for Monday ; consequently in the afternoon our 
ship weighed anchor, and dropped down the river a few 
miles ; but at dark, again came to anchor to await the 
arrival of Mr. Finlay from Canton. About midnight 
Mr. Finlay arrived, and reported that the excitement 
still continued at Canton, and that the foreigners were 
hourly expecting a furious outbreak ; but we congratu- 
lated ourselves, that before it took place we should be 
" far away on the billows." • 

Monday, 19th. Before a fine breeze we sailed down 



296 VOYAGE TO CHINA. 

the Canton river, passing the United States frigate 
Vincennes, and the Hne-of-battle ship Columbus. These 
vessels have recently arrived in China, and the com- 
manding officer, Commodore Biddle, is authorized, on 
the part of the United States, to act as minister to the 
Chinese government. These vessels are both moving 
up the river for the purpose of being ready to act in 
defence of any American interests which may be in- 
volved in the insurrectional movements at Canton. It is 
also said that Gov. Davies, in case of any outbreak, will 
send the soldiers who are quartered at Hong Hong, up 
the river, to assist the Chinese authorities against the 
insurgents. 

Captain Skill ington, of the Leland, having discharged 
his steward and cook, we found it necessary to return 
to Hong Kong, for the purpose of supplying their places. 
Accordingly, at six o'clock, p. m., we cast anchor again 
in the bay of Hong Kong, about four miles from shore. 
It was impossible for the captain to accomplish his 
objects here w^ithout spending the whole of Tuesday, 
and this gave us an opportunity to take a more formal 
leave of our newly made friends in this place. 

Before taking our final departure from the coast of 
the Celestial Empire, it wall be proper to make some 
observations concerning a few things which have not 
yet been exhibited, but which cannot fail to strike the 
foreigner with considerable interest. 

The first I shall mention is the antiquated appearance 
of every thing that presents itself. While the nations 
of Europe and America are moving onward from one 
improvement to another, with unexampled celerity, and 
attracting universal admiration as well as conferring 
incalculable good upon the world, the Chinese seldom 
advance a step beyond the customs, habits and fashions 
which characterized their remotest ancestors ; and they 
have been equally slow in adopting any of the usages 
and improvements of "distant foreigners." Architect- 
ure, agriculture, costume, and all the arts and sciences, 
remain in China, as the lawyers say, "m statu quof 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 291 

and this inertia of every thing is not only a prominent 
characteristic of the Chinese, but constitutes a subject in 
which they glory. 

Another thing vv^hich strikes the foreigner is the 
astonishing contrariety to what he has been taught as 
proper, which appears in the habits and occupations of 
the Chinese. We have considered the right, as the 
place of honor, but the Chinese give pi^ecedence to the 
left. Black is considered by the nations of the west as 
the 3.ppropriate badge of mourning, but in the estimation 
of the Chinese, there is nothing so proper as white. 

The Chinese do not number the cardinal points in our 
order, but always mention the south before the north, 
and the west before the east ; thus,— south, north, west 
and east. And instead of saying north-west, south-west, 
as we do, they say west-north, west-south, &c. The 
compass of the Chinese, instead of pointing to the north, 
is so constructed as to point to the south. This contra- 
riety appears in many other particulars, and the fact of 
its existence brings one to the conclusion that we are 
not to estimate the Chinese by the criterion of European 
taste and usage. 

A third subject of interest to foreigners on entering 
the cities of China, is the numerous manufactories and 
trades in operation, wherever he goes. Properly speak- 
ing, there is no machinery in the country ; consequently 
no such extensive manufactui'ing establishments as in 
Europe and America. In consequence of the absence 
of all kinds of machinery calculated to lessen the amount 
of manual labor, the number of hands employed in 
carrying forward the different trades is truly immense. 
A great proportion of the manufacturing business re- 
quired to supply the commercial houses of Canton, is 
performed at Fuhshan, a large town situated a few miles 
westward. Still, the amount accomplished in Canton, is 
by no means inconsiderable. There are from fifteen to 
twenty thousand persons engaged in Canton in weaving 
silk ; fifty thousand in manufacturing cloth of different 
kinds ; five thousand shoemakers ; from seven thousand 

13 



398 t^OYAGE Td CBINA, 

to ten thousand barbers, besides an unnumbered multi» 
tude who work in wood, brass, iron^ stone^ and various 
other materials, too numerous to mention. 

Those who engage in each of these respective occu- 
pations, form a separate community,— each community 
having its own laws and regulations to control their 
business. 

On ascending the Chookeang river from Macao to 
Canton, nothing interests the foreigner so much as the 
vast number and almost endless variety of boats by 
which he is constantly surrounded ; every boat forming 
a habitation for one family, or more, according to its 
dimensions and the wealth of the occupants. There 
are officers appointed by the government to regulate 
and control this portion of the inhabitants ; consequently 
all the boats, of the various sizes and descriptions which 
are seen here, are registered. The number adjacent 
and belonging to the city of Canton is eighty-four thou- 
sand. A large proportion of these are what the Chinese 
call Tankea (egg-house) boats. These are very small, 
varying from ten to fifteen feet long, and from four to 
six feet broad. In large coops lashed to the outside of 
these boats, are reared large broods of ducks and chick- 
ens, designed for the city markets, while within them 
whole families live and die. These, together with the 
passage boats, ferry boats, canal boats^ pleasure boats, 
cruisers, &lc., complete the hst of these floating habita- 
tions, and constitute a permanent dwelling place for a 
population of three hundred thousand souls ! 

Another subject of interest to the stranger visiting 
China, is found in the piratical character of many of the 
Chinese inhabiting the numerous islands, which consti- 
tute an extensive archipelago along the coast of the 
Chinese sea. Among these islands, piracies and rob- 
beries are of frequent occurrence. During our stay at 
Canton, an English vessel was attacked, almost within 
hailing distance of Macao. The pirates boarded her, 
after having cleared the decks of her crew, by killing 
one and causing the others to take refuge in the hold. 



VOYAGE TO CHINA. 299 

and rifling her of all that would be valuable to them, 
made their escape. These pirates often combine in 
large numbers, and attack large commercial houses ; 
nor are they discriminating, but fall alike upon those 
belonging both to Chinese and foreigners. The school- 
house belonging to the Morrison Education Society, 
situated on Morrison Hill, and occupied by Rev. S. R. 
Brown and family, was, a short time ago, captured by a 
band of them in the night, the family escaping from one 
side, while the robbers were entering on the other. 
They were in possession of the house for several hours, 
and finally escaped with their booty to their island 
fastnesses. Soon after this occurrence they made an 
attempt upon an English house situated at the west end 
of the city of Victoria. Prepared with their scaling 
ladders, as their habit was, they mounted the building 
in large numbers, and while in the act of removing the 
tiling so that they could descend into the building, a 
charge of grape from a six pounder mounted on a 
neighboring eminence, was poured into them, and two 
of their number rolled like logs from the roof to the 
ground, and the remainder took to flight. 



CHAPTER XV. 



Voyage from Hong Kong to New York — Chinese Sea — Islands — Strait of Gasper 

— Java Sea — Strait of Sunda — Perilous condition of the Leland — Loss of 
cable and anchor — Ship saved — Sumatra and Java — Pulo Bassa — Malays 

— Indian Ocean — Cape of Good Hope — Cast anchor in Table Bay — Cape 
Town — Colony — Vineyards — Produce — Missionary labor — The responsibility 
of churches — Difficulty on board — Captain "fined — His charact»r — The 
supercargo — Mrs. Hooper — Adieu to Africa — Cleansing the ship — Man 
overboard — Splendid eclipse of the sun ^ Reflections — The Gulf stream — 
Coast of New Jersey — New York. 

On Wednesday morning, the 21st of January, at four 
o'clock, our sails were again spread to the breeze, and 
bidding adieu to the granite mountains of the Celestial 
Empire, we shaped our course towards the Cape of 
Good Hope. We had a remarkably pleasant time in 
sailing down the Chinese Sea, though this is reported as 
the most dangerous navigation in the world. Multitudes 
of vessels, through the effects of the ty-phongs, have 
either been foundered in this sea, or dashed to pieces on 
some of the numerous shoals with which these waters 
abound. But happily for us, this is not the season of ty- 
phongs, but the north-east monsoon blows steadily, in a 
seven knot breeze, and renders the sailing most de- 
lightful. 

We made several islands on our passage down the 
sea, some of which are . inhabited by Malays. The 
islands appeared beautiful, being mostly covered with 
verdure ; and surrounded by the watery waste, resem- 
bled the oasis of the Arabian desert. 

Arriving at the entrance of the Strait of Gasper in 
the evening, we were obliged to come to anchor, and 
wait for the light of morning to conduct us through it. 
This strait connects the Chinese with the Java Sea, and 



TO NEW YORK. 301 

IS full of rocks and shoals, which render the navigation 
dangerous, especially in the night. 

It was on a rock in this strait, where the Alcesta, an 
English frigate, was wrecked, with Lord Amherst on 
board. The vessel was a total loss, but the people took 
to the boats, and all succeeded in crossing the Java Sea 
to Batavia, on the island of Java, the distance of three 
hundred miles. In passing through the strait we were 
not conscious of a very great proximity to danger, but 
delighted ourselves with the beautiful prospect presented 
by the numerous islands, rocks, and birds upon the wing, 
by which the scenery was diversified. 

A fine breeze wafted us quickly across the Java Sea, 
and on Sunday, the first of February, we entered the 
strait of Sunda. Having a fair wind, we attempted to 
run directly through, though the captain was aware 
that we would have to contend with counter currents. 
Suddenly the wind left us, and we found ourselves 
drifting broad side on to an island which was but a 
little distance from us. Before the men could get the 
anchor ready for letting go, such was the rapidity of 
the current, that we had approached within a few rods 
of the shore, and some of us expected every moment 
that the vessel would strike, as she was carried towards 
the point of the island at the rate of five knots. Our 
only hope was in the anchor, which fortunately was let 
go just in time to prevent the vessel from running 
aground. Chain was '' paid out " freely, to prevent the 
anchor from dragging, and when we found that the 
anchor held, and had time to view the place, the captain 
observed that we might think ourselves well off if we 
got away from that spot by losing our anchor and cable. 
The current dashed past us with astonishing force, and 
would have carried us to inevitable destruction, if our 
anchor had not held us fast. 

Though the weather was calm and pleasant, we 
passed here an uncomfortable night, in consequence of 
our dangerous position. We were within a stone's cast 
of the shore, and as our vessel swung to the current, it 
was but a short distance from our stern to where the 



302 VOYAGE PROM HONG KONG 

water rushed furiously on to rocks which were imbed- 
ded below the surface, and formed eddies and whirlpools 
truly frightful to contemplate. But our cable was strong, 
and our anchor held firm, so that on the following 
morning we had changed our position but a few rods, 
the current having caused the anchor to drag but a 
short distance ^towards the land. Happily for us, a 
breeze sprung up on Monday, quartering from the shore, 
and against the current ; but, though thus favored, we 
did not dare to raise the anchor ; consequently, a spring 
was fixed upon it, and it was determined to make all 
sail, slip the cable, and leave the anchor where it lay. 
This appeared to be the only alternative, and, at all 
events, it succeeded. The vessel, after trembling a few 
moments against the current, began gradually to move 
before the freshening breeze, and as we turned partly 
across the current to get away from the land, the spring 
cable snapped asunder, and we were quickly borne by 
the timely breeze to a safe distance from our dangerous 
moorings. 

Again in the centre of the strait of Sunda, steering 
our course towards the island of Pulo Bassa, which lay 
in sight, we felt called upon to offer up a tribute of 
thanksgiving to that merciful Providence who had de- 
livered us from the imminent danger by which we had 
been surrounded. 

Navigators, in passing through the strait of Sunda, 
have to guard against shoals, rocks and currents ; and 
often head winds detain vessels here for many days 
before they can get through. At the entrance of the 
strait, we overtook two English vessels, which ap- 
peared to be feeling their way along, with the utmost 
care. One of them came to anchor near the islands 
called the Twin Sisters, and while we lay in our dan- 
gerous position, she weighed anchor, and showed us her 
English colors as she passed. 

This strait divides the islands of Sumatra and Java. 
The former is inhabited by Malays, and is the scene 
where the missionaries, Lyman and Monson, met their 
tragical death. The coast is low and flat in some places, 



TO NEW YORK. 303 

in others, hilly. The islaed presents the appearance of 
great fertility. 

Java presents a more uneven surface, and, as seen from 
the strait, does not appear so fertile. The Dutch are its 
possessors. Batavia and Algier are places of conside- 
rable importance. This island is well situated for 
commerce, and, but for its deathly climate, it would 
doubtless prosper more rapidly. 

Beside these, are several small islands about the strait, 
which altogether present a very agreeable prospect. 

As the wind did not favor us for clearing Java Head, 
on the second, we put in towards Sumatra, and came to 
anchor under the lee of Pulo Bassa, which is a high 
circular island, and, with two or three other islands of 
the same character, and the highlands on the island of 
Sumatra, forms a good shelter from the north-west 
winds. On coming to anchor, the wind, which had 
been hardly sufficient to enable us to gain our harbor, 
entirely died away ; and, as the sea was smooth, we 
were here permitted to spend a quiet night, which is a 
great luxury at sea. 

The islands around us were inhabited by Malays, a 
number of whom came off with shells, turtles, banannas, 
•&C., to trade with us. We purchased all they brought, 
and found that money was the object of their principal 
desire, and that they well understood its value. Those 
that came to us v/ere very brown, dwarfish and filthy 
objects, and their teeth were as black as ebony, occa- 
sioned, probably, by their use of beetle-nuts, as an article 
of food. 

On the morning of the 3rd of February, we weighed 
anchor, and were soon out of sight of land, amidst the 
solitudes of the Indian ocean. 

For a few of the first days, after leaving the islands, 
we made but slow progress, on account of baffling 
winds. On the fourth day, however, we secured the 
south-east trade, which continued, with little variation, 
until we approached the Cape of Good Hope. 

On our leaving China, it was the intention of Mr. 
Finlay^ the supercargo, to stop at St« Helena, to procure 



304 VOYAGE FROM HONG KONG 

water and fresh provisions ^ but, through the recom- 
mendation of the captain, it v^^as finally determined to stop 
at Cape Town. Consequently, on approaching the lati- 
tude of the Cape, we hauled up towards land, and the 
eastern coast of Africa, with its high mountains and 
barren sands, appeared on our right, about one hundred 
miles north of the southern extremity of the continent. 
The most southern point of land is not the Cape of 
Good Hope, as is generally supposed, but a low point 
about thirty miles south-east of the Cape of Good 
Hope, called Cape Lagullus. Hence the soundings, 
which here extend far into the ocean, are called "La- 
gullus Banks." 

We reached these banks the day before we made 
land, and the appearance of the grampus, • cape geese, 
and other aquatic animals, which there abound, presented 
an agreeable diversion from the tedious monotony of a 
voyage of five thousand miles across the Indian ocean. 

During thirty-five days there was scarcely an object 
appeared to attract attention, though we were sailing 
over that part of the great deep where some of the 
principal scenes of the " Flying Dutchman " were laid. 
However, we were gravely told by our captain, that, 
even to this day, there occasionally appears a full-rigged 
ship, hull and all, above water, in the vicinity of the Cape 
of Good Hope, answering to the description of the Flying 
Dutchman ; and he averred, that he had often seen it 
himself, notwithstanding the assurance of Captain Marry^ 
att, that the " Phantom Ship is no more." 

The day we doubled the Cape of Good Hope was a 
remarkably pleasant one, and we sailed along in full 
view of the coast during the whole day. When we 
arrived off the Cape, we were within three miles of 
land, and every object on shore could be distinctly seen 
from the ship's deck. We had a splendid breeze in 
passing around, and we left in our rear, in quick succes- 
sion, Cape Point, Gurner's Coin, and English Point, and 
rounding to, to enter the harbor of Cape Town, we 
fell under the lee of the high lands of the coast, where 
we lost our wind, and within sight of the town, harbor, 



TO NEW YORK. 305 

shipping, light-house, and the American Consulate, where 
the stars and stripes were fluttering in the breeze, we 
lay in a dead calm till the following morning. A gentle 
breeze arose with the sun, and bore us into the quiet 
bosom of Table Bay, on the shore of which is situated 
the beautiful and picturesque city known by the name of 
Cape Town. ' 

Our stay here was only a day and a half, but we im- 
proved the time in examining every thing interesting in 
and about the place. The town is quite beautiful, and 
seems to be more active and animated than any other 
English town I have ever seen. 

It is built on an inclined plain, which extends from the 
base of Table Mountain to the waters of the bay, the 
distance of one mile and a half. 

The streets are broad and regular, crossing each other 
at right angles, but without side-walks ; a singular defi- 
ciency in a town where walking seems to be fashionable 
with all classes. Coaches appear to be numerous, and 
it is here that a stranger can judge of the quality of an 
individual, and the amount of his income, from the 
splendor of his riding equipage. Here may be seen the 
rough cart, drawn by a mule, the common buggy, 
coach and one, coach and two, coach and four, coach 
and six. I saw some of the latter class, with the coach 
and harness mounted with gold ; but as I heard the 
sound of weeping issue from one of the coaches, I was 
reminded that misery is closely allied to opulence and 
grandeur. 

To make up for the deficiency of suitable walks in the 
city, the Anglo Africans, a little distance out of town, 
have a number of the most beautifully shaded prome- 
nades, which, for all the elite of the place, are very 
fashionable as well as very pleasant resorts. Doubtless 
the present occupants of Cape Town are indebted to the 
Dutch for a great many of the comforts and luxuries 
which they now enjoy ; particularly the delightful gar- 
dens and shaded walks, which render Cape Town a 
very pleasant place. 

There are a number of elegant buildings in the city ; 
13* 



306 VOYAGE FROM HONG KONG 

but there appeared to be but few now being erected, 
which shows that the place is at a stand. Churches 
abound, and the principal are the Episcopal, Lutheran 
and We-sleyan. There are three or four of the latter, 
but, from the shortness of our stay, I could not particu- 
larly inform myself in regard to the state of religion in 
the colony. 

The number of inhabitants in Cape Colony, embracing 
all ranks and colors, is about fifty thousand ; thirty 
thousand of whom reside in Cape Town. 

As in all foreign countries that have been colonized by 
Europeans, where the native inhabitants are colored, 
the people of Cape Town present all possible shades of 
complexion. Those, however, who share in the blood 
of the Hottentot, it is presumed, are not admitted into 
the higher classes of society, but many of them, espe- 
cially among the brunettes, possess remarkably fine 
forms and features, and, in the streets of Cape Town, 
and on the different promenades, present a very respect- 
able appearance. 

It is well known that the Dutch were the first Eu- 
ropeans that gained a footing in south Africa ; and Cape 
Town, as well as the surrounding country, presents 
many evidences of the taste and enterprise of their first 
civilized inhabitants. The beautiful groves already 
spoken of, some of which are a mile in extent, are all 
artificial, and composed of a species of black oak. The 
trees have been collected with great labor, and planted 
in regular rows, and so near together that their boughs 
intermingle over head, so as to form a dense shade at all 
times of day. Doubtless the naturally destitute condi- 
tion of the country, as it regards timber, and the desire 
to screen themselves from the burning heat of the sun, 
prompted the first settlers to form these artificial forests. 

Be this as it may, they are used by the present popu- 
lation as a great luxury. We had an opportunity to 
judge of their utility from personal experience. As we 
rambled through the town, we found the heat of the 
sun exceedingly oppressive ; but coming to a gate which 
opened into one of these retreats, we walked in, and 



TO NEW YORK* 307 

found ourselves in an atmosphere truly refreshing. In 
the centre of the grove which we explored, and which 
is ahout one mile long, is the residence of the governor 
of the Colony, and, as we passed, we observed that the 
gateway leading to the palace was guarded by two huge 
lions. Nothing can appear more rural than the govern- 
or's seat, though within one-half mile of the tumult of 
the busy town. 

Within the precincts of the town, as well as round 
about, vineyards abound. The raising of grapes appears 
to be one of the principal pursuits of the people, the 
Dutch }X)rtion of the population in particular. The 
grapes are of various kinds, and exceedingly fine, some 
of them comparing in size with the green gage-plum. 
They are used, as in other countries where they abound, 
for the manufacture of wines and raisins. These arti- 
cles of commerce are sent to Europe and America, 
annually, in great abundance, and are known as Cape 
wines and Cape raisins. We were in one of the estab- 
lishments where they are manufactured, and from the 
specimens, of wines which were there shown, it is not 
difficult to believe that nine-tenths of the stuff sold and 
drank, in the name of wine, in civilized countries, are 
entirely spurious. The raisins, though of a good quality, 
will not compare with the Malaga, and some other kinds. 
We were conducted to a room where the negroes were 
packing raisins, and observed that they would first fill 
the boxes, and then spread a piece of cloth over the 
raisins and trample them in with their feet. Apples, 
also, and pears, abound in the city, and are of a good 
quality. They grow mostly in the interior, but are 
always to be found in the market, as also potatoes, 
onions and other vegetables, for the accommodation of 
ships. 

As it regards the civil state of the country, all was 
quiet and prospering around the Cape, but in conse- 
quence of the threatening aspect of things among the 
Bushmen, the soldiers that were quartered at Cape Town 
have all been sent off to the frontiers, and it is expected 



308 VOYAGE FROM HONG KONG 

that their presence in that region will keep every thing 
quiet. 

The American Consul, who appears to be truly a reli- 
gious man, gave us the following information, with 
respect to the results of missionary labor in Cape 
Colony : Large numbers of the native inhabitants, in 
various places, had professed to be converted, but very 
few had continued, for any length of time, to give evi- 
dence of a genuine change of heart. Indeed, it appears 
to be the case in Africa, as well as in other heathen 
countries, that it is much easier to get the people con- 
verted than it is to keep them so. Though the good 
accomplished for the natives may be limited, yet mis- 
sionary labor, in such a place as Cape Colony, is vastly 
important, in securing the well-being of foreign residents, 
and in giving a correct tone to the moral state of society. 

However elevated human nature may become through 
the influence of science, truth and correct example, it 
has a natural tendency downwards, which will always 
exhibit itself in proportion as the restraints of religion 
cease to be felt. Governments seldom supply their 
colonies with that kind and amount of religious influence 
necessary to preserve a wholesome moral atmosphere in 
society. This must be done by the church of Christ ; 
and it is only necessary for Christians to understand the 
true condition of those countries which are being re- 
deemed from barbai'ism by the settlement of colonies 
from civilized and Christian nations, to induce them to 
use their best endeavors to supply them with all the 
necessary means for religious instruction. 

Foreigners, Europeans and Americans, are found in all 
heathen countries, where they have settled for the pur- 
pose of accumulating money ; and, generally, the mis- 
sionary will succeed with the heathen in proportion to the 
degree of influence he is able to throw around the con- 
duct of foreign residents. Vicious foreigners, residing 
among the heathen, may, by a few weeks or even days 
of wickedness, destroy the religious efforts of many 
years ; and these are the characters with whom the 



TO NEW YORK. 309 

missionary must come, in contact in all parts of the 
world ; and this may be regarded as one of the greatest 
hindrances to his success. 

The ship having procured its supplies of fresh pro- 
visions and water, and ourselves having purchased a 
suitable quantity of apples, pears and fresh grapes, for 
our own private use, on Friday evening, the 14th of 
March, we weighed anchor, to resume our homeward 
voyage ; but, for the want of a breeze, we did not suc- 
ceed in getting out of Table Bay, until the following 
morning. Before leaving, a circumstance happened 
illustrative of the character of the captain, under whose 
rule we lived for nearly one hundred and fifty days. 
He had shipped a sailor at Hong Kong, but in conse- 
quence of a disagreement about the price, the sailor, who 
was a smart, active Italian, had not signed any bonds, 
and consequently considered that he had a right to leave 
the vessel at the Cape, if he was so disposed. He ac- 
cordingly informed the captain that he wished to settle 
with him, as he designed to leave. The captain, having 
had a grudge against him ever since the first difficulty, 
became now exceedingly enraged, at what he called the 

" scoundrel's insolence," and, seizing a belaying- 

pin, struck the sailor in the forehead, and, but for the 
rigging, the latter would have fallen to the deck. He 
gathered himself, however, and, rising upon his feet, 
with his face covered with blood, very properly up- 
braided the infuriated captain, for the cruelty of his 
conduct. 

The captain had had a similar difficulty with a seaman 
at Hong Kong, whom he chased all over the deck of the 
vessel, unmercifully pounding him with a belaying-pin, 
subsequently causing him to be put in irons, and flogged. 
The seaman, after being discharged, entered a complaint 
against the captain, before the Consul, and, (as the cap- 
tain told Mrs. Hooper,) recovered damages of him to the 
amount of one hundred dollars, which, the captain said, he 
*' walked up and paid like a man." For fear of meeting 
with a similar retribution at Cape Town, for his cruel 
treatment of the defenceless Italian, he detained a boat 



ailO VOYAGE FROM HONG KONG 

along side, and kept the sailor on board of the vessel till 
we v^^ere well under way ; and when he supposed that 
we were so far away that there was no danger of being 
pursued, he sent the sailor into the boat, to be taken 
ashore. As the Italian was leaving the deck, his com- 
rades saluted him by saying, " there goes the best sailor 
we had among us." 

Notwithstanding these objectionable traits in his cha- 
racter, our captain is an excellent navigator ; he appears 
perfectly at home on the vessel, and is more laborious 
than any other captain I have ever seen. While I have 
no occasion to find fault with his course in reference to 
myself and family, I can speak in high commendation of 
his conduct towards Mrs. Hooper and her children. He 
was particularly attentive to their wants, while he was 
hberal with all the passengers on board ; and but for 
strong drink, that great spoiler of humanity, he would 
be one of the safest captains that sail upon the ''great 
deep." 

From our experience on this vessel, I am fully per- 
suaded that, where passengers and ships' crews suffer, as 
is often the case, for the want of suitable provisions, it is 
owing, in nine cases out of ten, to the penuriousness or 
carelessness of owners and captains. No word of 
complaint, however, can be preferred against the Leland, 
for the quality of the fare which she afforded. Every 
thing was in good time, and in good order ; and the 
variety of meats, vegetables and sauce, with which the 
table was furnished, was truly surprising to us, who, on 
other vessels, had been accustomed to such different 
fare. Besides his attention to the wants of the passen- 
gers, Mr. Finlay proved himself to be a very agreeable 
cabin companion. He is very much of a gentleman, 
and having followed the seas for more than twenty 
years, as supercargo, he has collected a vast fund of 
general information. 

It is often necessary to be subjected to a close con- 
nection with others, for some length of time, in order to 
be able to form correct opinions concerning them. Mrs. 
Hooper, we found to be, not only a very benevolent 



TO NEW YORK. 311 

person, but an agreeable associate in the cabin. We 
shall often call to mind the many hours at sea which 
have been rendered more endurable by her inteUigent 
conversation and cheerful deportment. 

Saturday, the 15th of March, the mountainous coast 
of southern Africa disappeared in the dim distance. 

For the first few days after leaving Table Bay, we 
made but little progress, in consequence of adverse 
winds, but the fourth day, we took the south-east trades, 
and began to indulge the pleasing reflection, that the 
next land we saw would be the shores of our own native 
country, though there were checks thrown upon our 
happiness by the consideration, that there were still 
many dangers to pass, and storms to buffet, before we 
should reach the desired haven. 

The south-east trade-winds are not very strong, and 
the ocean, in the region where they prevail, is generally 
smooth, and the w^eather pleasant ; consequently, it is in 
passing over these latitudes that vessels, homeward 
bound, prepare for entering port. The vessel is to be 
scrubbed, inside and out ; the decks are to be scraped, 
holy-stoned, and varnished ; the spars are to be cleansed 
and painted, and the bulwarks, masts, round-house, 
chains, guns, casks, buckets, and binacle, are all to be 
scoured and painted. The rigging is to be overhauled 
and tarred down ; empty boxes, barrels, and all unne- 
cessary lumber, are to be cast overboard ; rent sails are 
all to be mended, and put in perfect order, and every 
thing, even to the anchor, is to put on, at least a 
clean outside, so that the ship will make as good an ap- 
pearance when she enters port as when she left. As 
the Leland had been out nearly eighteen months, and in 
that time having performed a voyage round the world, 
she required much cleansing, and the seamen were 
busily employed in accomplishing this object, for several 
weeks. 

While this work was going on, an accident happened 
which produced a great excitement on board. We were 
sailing before the wind at the rate of five knots an hour, 
and a sailor boy, who was on the outside of the bul- 



912 VOYAGE FROM HONG KONG 

warks, scraping the fore chains, and was held to his 
place by a rope tied around his waist, and fastened to a 
belaying-pin, from carelessness, lost his hold, and, as the 
rope slipped upon the pin, he fell into the ocean. As he 
was falling, he hallooed as loud as he could roar, for his 
comrades to haul in the slack of the rope. As they did 
not understand him, a cry was raised, that resounded 
from the after cabin to the forecastle, that ** a man was 
overboard." The ladies in the cabin heard the cry, and 
Mrs. Hooper thought it was her little daughter, as she 
heard the word " child," and Mrs. Hines thought I was 
the unfortunate one, as she heard my name mentioned 
in connection with " overboard." 

Which of the two were most frightened, it is difficult 
to tell. Mrs. Hooper was actually thrown into a fit, 
and Mrs. Hines fainted, and neither of them, two weeks 
afterwards, had entirely recovered from the shock. 

As soon as the cry was raised, the mate seized a hen- 
coop containing nine chickens, and cast it overboard, 
for the drowning man to hold upon until other relief 
could be sent. But this was not necessary, as the rope 
did not slip far on the pin before it held ; and as it re- 
tained its hold on his body, the frightened tar, by the 
assistance of his comrades, was soon again brought on 
deck. 

We were twenty-six days from the Cape of Good 
Hope, to the equinoctial line, and had the good fortune 
to pass from the south-east to the north-east trade, with 
very little detention. In the region of the equator we 
experienced numerous showers of rain, but as ttiey 
were accompanied by favorable breezes, we were soon 
out of the rainy latitudes, and, by the assistance of a 
strong north-east trade, were passing up into the regions 
of the north, at the rate of two hundred miles per day. 

We crossed the equator in longitude thirty-six degrees, 
and consequently were not far from the coast of Brazil. 
In north latitude, twenty degrees, we approached so near 
the Island of Trinidad, as to discern its whereabouts, 
and witness the immense columns of clouds which hung 
around its lofty and volcanic summit. Frona this our 



TO NEW YORK 313 

course lay along, about two hundred miles to the wind- 
ward of the West India Islands. While passing these, 
we experienced a succession of squalls and calms which 
continued until we entered the twenty-fifth degree of 
north latitude. While in latitude twenty-four degrees 
forty-one minutes, and longitude sixty-one degrees forty 
minutes, on the 25th of April, we had a splendid view 
of a solar eclipse. It was a remarkably clear day, and 
the eclipse was so nearly total that it became quite dark. 
At the greatest obscuration the south side of the sun 
presented the appearance of the moon at thirty-six hours 
old, and the light preceeding from it was not, in appear- 
ance, unUke to the light of the moon on a clear winter's 
night. However common the phenomenon of an eclipse 
of the sun may be to us, far away upon the sea, it was 
a source of real entertainment ; and we cheered our- 
selves with the idea that many of our friends on land 
were perhaps gazing at the same object. 

A number of severe squalls while we were passing 
the Bermudas, brought to mind the quaint lines of the 
sailor : 

"If Bermuda let you pass. 
Look ye out for Hatteras ; 
If Hatteras you pass by. 
Look ye out for Cape Henry." 

Bermuda, however, "let us pass" on the 25th of April, 
and we began to flatter ourselves that our voyage would 
soon be over. 

When a person first leaves his native land and goes 
to sea, the wonders of the deep are contemplated by 
him with a great degree of interest. The monsters 
that inhabit it — the whale, the shark, the porpoise — and 
the various kinds of fish that explore its boundless ex- 
tent ; together with the albatros, petrel, and other birds 
which live almost perpetually on the wing, and are seen 
ahke in calms and storms in all latitudes, become, suc- 
cessively, the objects of his curious observation. The 
manner in which the ship is managed, the peculiar 
phrases which salute his ear, the tacking ship, the 



S14 VOYAGE FROM HONG KONG 

making sail, the shortening sail, and a thousand other 
things, conspire to interest and divert him. And, indeed, 
to the curious, the sea does not present that dull mono- 
tony of which so many voyagers have complained. 

However, subjects contemplated with great interest 
on an outward voyage, do not claim the same attention 
when one is bound for home, after an absence of seven 
or eight years. The absorbing topic with us on ap- 
proaching our native coast, was the distance we were 
sailing from day to day, and the probable time we should 
reach our much desired haven. We had been absent 
nearly seven years ; and while approximating our native 
shores, a thousand thoughts revolved in our minds in 
reference to the circumstances in which we might find 
those persons and things that were interesting to us 
before subjecting ourselves to our voluntary exile. We 
had left a large circle of friends, and from many of them 
we had heard nothing .for seven long years. As we had 
been situated in the most isolated country on the globe, 
the information we had received concerning the state 
of our own religious denomination, had been very limit- 
ed, and usually more than one year old when obtained. 

The numerous changes which must have taken place 
in the different localities and social circles in which it 
had been our privilege to move, had been kept from our 
knowledge. Indeed, a pall of darkness had long since 
fallen upon most of those things which were particularly 
interesting to us as private individuals ; and from the 
uncertainty of every thing before us, we scarcely knew 
whether to be elated or dejected — to indulge in feelings 
of joy or those of sorrow — when we reflected that in a 
few more days the hills and valleys of our own New 
York would appear before us, and we should be permit- 
ted again to visit those places rendered dear to us by 
many hallowing associations. Whether we were to be 
greeted by our friends on our arrival, or whether we 
were to learn that they were dead, was altogether pro- 
blematical, and we began to indulge the melancholy 
reflection that we might find ourselves strangers even 
in our own native village. 



TO NF,W YORK. 315 

While the different changes which might have taken 
place in the various departments of church and state, 
and in the families wath which we had been acquainted, 
were passing before our minds, our gallant vessel was 
bearing us rapidly onward towards our native shores, 
and on the 30th of April we entered the Gulf Stream in 
latitude thirty-six degrees north, and found this terror 
of the American coast in a remarkably quiet state, as it 
usually is when westerly winds prevail. We were 
sixteen hours in crossing the stream, and on the 1st day 
of May found ourselves on soundings, off the Capes of 
Virginia. 

It is a singular fact often eliciting remarks from voy- 
agers, though it is none the less remarkable on that 
account, that the water in the Gulf Stream is fifteen 
degrees warmer than it is on either side. Before 
reaching it from the south, the water for a great dis- 
tance was full of an aquatic plant called the gulf-w^eed. 
As every object at sea commands the notice of the 
voyager, the sea-weed was observed with no small 
interest. 

On getting past the stream, in the evening we were 
permitted to see a grand display of Nature's fire-woi'ks. 
The clouds that hung over the stream in dense masses, 
were lighted up by the continued flashes of electricity, 
with the most magnificent illumination. Sometimes it 
would appear as if the whole ocean in our rear was in 
one general conflagration. 

After leaving the stream we were favored with 
remarkably pleasant weather and fair winds, and on the 
morning of the 2d day of May, at three o'clock, we 
made the lighthouse of Barnegat, on the coast of New 
Jersey. Soon after dayhght we received a New York 
pilot, at which time our voyage was considered as ter- 
minated ; making one hundred and two days from Hong 
Kong. After receiving the pilot, a dense fog enveloped 
us, through which we had to feel our way, and in the 
midst of which we were hovering around the entrance 
to New York Bay. At length the fog was removed by 
a friendly wind, and at dusk the Leland dropped her 



316 HONG KONG TO NEW YORK. 

anchor inside of Sandy Hook, and within a stone's cast 
of the spot where lay the Lausanne the night previous 
to taking her departure in 1839. 

We were detained at the Hook by dense fogs until 
the 4th of May, when we proceeded up the Bay to 
New York city, where we landed in safety on the 
evening of that day. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Oregon Territory — Its geography — Boundary and extent — Harbors — Capes — 
Face of the country — Snow Mountains — Rivers — Mouth of the Columbia — 
Columbia Bar — Channel — Kinds of fish — Timber — Climate — Summer and 
Winter — Fertility of the soil — Clatsop Plains — Bottom lands — Puget's 
Sound — The garden of Oregon — Middle region — Upper region — Capabilities 
of ihe country. 

That portion of the vast extent of country lying 
west of the Rocky Mountains, which has acquired, by 
universal consent, the name of Oregon, lies within the 
following boundaries : Commencing at the north-west 
corner, in the centre of the Strait of Juan De Fuca, at 
its mouth, consider the north Hne as extending along 
said strait, at an equal distance from the main land on 
the south, and Vancouver's Island on the north, east- 
ward, the distance of one hundred and twenty miles, 
thence northward till it strikes the forty-ninth parallel 
of north latitude, thence due east along said parallel the 
distance of five hundred and fifty miles, to the Rocky 
Mountains ; on the east by the Rocky Mountains, ex- 
tending from the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, 
to the forty-first, the distance of four hundred and 
eighty miles ; on the south by the Snowy Mountains, 
which extend, in a continuous range, from the Rocky 
Mountains to Cape Mendocino, on the Pacific, the dis- 
tance of seven hundred miles ; and on the west by the 
Pacific ocean, from Cape Mendocino, five hundred and 
twenty miles due north, to the mouth of the Strait of 
Juan De Fuca, near Cape Flattery, the place of begin- 
ning. Since the dividing line between the two govern- 
ments which have an interest and have exercised a 
controlling influence in the country, has now been de- 



318 OREGON TERRITORY. 

fined, and the forty-ninth parallel is hereafter, forever, to 
separate the two nations, it remains no longer a subject 
of discussion ; but any one, in casting his eye over a 
correct map of the country west of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, will discover at one glance, that a more natural 
division than the one which has been established, would 
have been a line extending from Puget's Sound north-east- 
wardly along the summit of the highlands, which separate 
the waters of the Columbia from those of Frazer's river, 
to the Rocky Mountains, so as to embrace in Oregon all 
the territory drained by the Columbia river. This would 
have given a natural boundary to the country on all 
sides, while the forty-ninth parallel is a very unnatural 
one, because, in crossing the great valley of the Colum- 
bia, it puts asunder that which the God of nature has 
joined together. 

The boundary as defined, gives Oregon about six 
hundred and forty miles of coast on the Pacific ocean 
and Strait of Fuca. The shores of the strait are com- 
posed of beaches of sand or stones, overhung by sandy 
and rocky cliflJs, and from these the land ascends gradu- 
ally to the foot of the mountains, which rise abruptly to 
a great height within a few miles of the ocean. The 
coast along the Pacific is nearly straight from north to 
south, in some places iron-bound, and in others composed 
of low beaches of sand. 

The harbors, or places of refuge for vessels along the 
Oregon coast, are very few, and, if we except Puget's 
Sound, with its numerous arms stretching far inland, 
there are none of the first quality. At the mouth of 
the Umpqua river there is a tolerable harbor for small 
craft, and the channel across the bar will admit of the 
entrance of vessels drawing eight feet. Bulfinch's 
harbor, discovered by Captain Robert Gray, of Boston, 
in 1792, is situated forty miles north of the mouth of 
the Columbia, and by artificial means may be constituted 
a safe anchorage. Port Discovery, situated near the 
south-east angle of the Strait of Fuea, is pronounced 
perfectly safe, and convenient for ships of any size. It 



OftfiGON TERKITORY. 319 

is defended from the violence of the waves by Protection 
Island. 

The most important harbor on the coast is that formed 
by the mouth of the Columbia river, as it constitutes a 
port of entry to the most important portions of Oregon. 
This harbor, though difficult of access in the winter 
season, when the prevailing winds on the coast are from 
the south and east, may, at other times, be safely entered 
by vessels drawing not more than sixteen feet, particu- 
larly if the navigator is acquainted with the intricacies 
of the channel. But this river, with its mouth, will be 
more particularly described hereafter. 

There are but few Capes along this coast, and none 
that project far into the ocean ; the shores being gene- 
rally straight, bold and unbroken. The principal are 
Cape Blanco, which is a high point of land extending 
into the ocean between the Clameth and Umpqua 
rivers, and nearly under the forty-third parallel of lati- 
tude ; Cape Disappointment, on the north side of the 
mouth of the Columbia river, and Cape Flattery, on the 
south side of the mouth of the Strait of Fuca'. Cape 
Disappointment, however, does not properly class with 
the important Capes along the Pacific coast, as it does 
not extend into the ocean, but is, at least, three miles 
inside the bar of the Columbia. But it holds a promi- 
nent place on all our maps and charts, as, from its pe- 
culiar location and the appearance of the majestic fir- 
trees upon its top, it forms an unerring guide to the 
storm-beaten sailor, who is desirous of seeking shelter 
in the quiet and peaceful waters of Baker's Bay. 

There are no islands of importance between Capes 
Mendocino and Flattery. One is found, however, lying 
about forty miles south of Cape Flattery, and named, by 
the Spaniards, the ''Isle of Grief," in commemoration of 
the loss of some of their men, who were destroyed by 
the natives on the adjacent coast. 

The face of this country is wonderfully diversified, 
and presents every variety of scenery, from the most 
awfully grand and sublime, to the most beautiful and 
picturesque in nature. 



320 OREGON TERRITORV. 

The country, in the vicinity of Puget's Sound, to a 
considerable extent, is level and beautiful, w^ith the ex- 
ception of which, all along the coast, it is broken and 
mountainous. On approaching the coast, at the mouth 
of the Columbia river, ridges of high lands appear on 
either hand, as far as the eye can reach, v^^hile the more 
elevated points serve as land-marks, to guide the mari- 
ner across the dreaded bar. The most remarkable of 
these elevations is one, called by the Indians, " The 
Sv^allalahoost," and celebrated by them as the place 
where one of their mighty chiefs, who, after death, as- 
sumed the form of a monstrous eagle, and taking wing, 
flew to the top of this mountain, and subsequently be- 
came the creator of the lightning and the thunder. 
From this tradition, as well as from the appearance of 
the mountain, it is supposed by some, that it might pos- 
sibly have once been an active volcano. Captain Wilkes, 
on his exploring visit to the country, gave it the name 
of " Saddle Mountain," from the resemblance of its top 
to the shape of a saddle. With but little variation, the 
country south of the Columbia, from thirty to fifty 
miles back from the ocean, and extending the whole 
extent of the Oregon coast, presents the same rough, 
wild and mountainous aspect. Doubtless, this region is 
destined to be occupied by civilized man, but not until 
there is no room left in the numerous valleys of this 
wide-spread country. 

Having passed over this range of high lands along the 
coast, you descend, on the north side of the Columbia, 
iuto the valley of the Cowilitz, and on the south, into 
that of the Wallamette river, and still farther south, 
you come down on the plains which lie on the Umpqua 
and Clameth rivers. The valley of the Cowilitz is 
about forty miles in length, and varying from ten to 
twenty in breadth, and extends east to the foot of that 
range of mountains of which " St. Helen's," the Mount 
Adams of Americans, is the highest peak. The Walla- 
mette valley is more extensive, being from fifty to eighty 
miles broad, and more than two hundred miles long. 
The plains on the Umpqua, which commence about 



OREGON TERRITORY 321 

forty-five miles back from the ocean, are quite extensive, 
and, with those on the Clameth, and the Waliamette 
valley, extend east to that range of mountains, which, 
crossing- the Columbia river, form the Cascades, and 
are therefore called the ''Cascade Mountains." 

Throughout these valleys are scattered numberless 
hillocks and rising grounds, from the top of some of 
which, scenery, as enchanting as was ever presented to 
the eye, delights and charms the lover of nature, who 
takes time to visit their conical summits. 

The whole extent of country from the Cascade moun- 
tains to the Pacific ocean, varying in breadth from 
seventy-five to one hundred and twenty miles, is called 
the Lower Country. 

The Cascade mountains extend in one continuous 
range, parallel with the coast, quite to California, and 
have therefore some times been called " The Cahfornia 
Mountains." 

Those whose highest observations have been limited 
to the CatskiJl and Alleghany mountains, can form no 
just conception of the grandeur and magnificence of 
this stupendous range. Some of its loftiest summits are 
more than fifteen thousand feet above the level of the 
ocean, and Mount Olympus, near Cape Flattery, and St. 
Helen's, near the head of the Cowilitz river, and fifty 
miles from the coast, can both be seen for some distance 
at sea. 

These highest points are covered with eternal snow, 
and, presenting their rounded tops to the heavens, ap- 
pear like so many magnificent domes, to adorn the 
temple of nature. From one elevation near the Walia- 
mette river, and at the distance of from sixty to one 
hundred and fifty miles, the writer has counted eight of 
these snow-topped mountains, without moving from his 
tracks. Surely, no scenery can be more enchanting. 
One of these mountains, St. Helen's, requires a more 
particular account, from a phenomenon which it pre- 
sented a few years ago. In the month of October, 
1842, it was discovered, all at once, to be covered with 
a dense cloud of smoke, which continued to enlarge, and 



322 OREGON TERftiTORY. 

move off, in dense masses, to the eastward, and tilling 
the heavens in that direction, presented an appearance 
hke that occasioned by a tremendous conflagration, 
viewed at a vast distance. When the first volumes of 
smoke had passed away, it could be distinctly seen, from 
various parts of the country, that an eruption had taken 
place on the north side of St. Helen's, a little below the 
summit, and from the smoke that continued to issue 
from the chasm or crater, it was pronounced to be a 
volcano in active operation. When the explosion took 
place, the wind was north-west, and on the same day, 
and extending from thirty to fifty miles to the south- 
east, there fell showers of ashes, or dust, which covered 
the ground in some places, so as to admit of its being 
collected in quantities. This last phenomenon has been 
of frequent occurrence, and has led many to suppose 
that volcanic eruptions are not uncommon in this coun- 

St. Helen's is the most regular in its form and the most 
beautiful in its appearance of all the snow-capped moun- 
tains of Oregon ; and though on the north side of the 
Columbia, it belongs to the Cascade range. Mount 
Hood, or Mount Washington, as it is sometimes called by 
Americans, is on the south side of the Columbia, and 
being larger, and more elevated than St. Helen's, presents 
a magnificent object, on which the eye can gaze without 
weariness, from innumerable points more than one hun- 
dred miles from its base. But any description of these 
gigantic piles of basalt and snow, must fall far below the 
reality ; and indeed, the person desiring to realize all the 
delightful sensations produced by the scenery of these 
mountains, must fix himself on some eminence in the 
Wallamette valley, where all of them at once come in 
contact with his vision, and he will want no farther 
proof that the works of art sink into insignificance, when 
compared with the stupendous works of nature. 

Descending these mountains to the east, you come 
into the valleys, successively, through which the river 
" De Shoots," John Day's river, the Unatila, and the 
Walla- Walla flow, before emptying into the Columbia ; 



OREGON TERRITORY. 323 

and on the north side of the latter river, you come down 
into the valley of the north branch of the same river. 
On the north, this middle region is comparatively level, 
until you approach the northern ridges of the Blue 
mountains ; but on the south side there are innumerable 
hills between the small rivers already mentioned, as also 
many plains of greater or less extent. As you approach 
the Blue mountains on the south, particularly on the 
Unatilla and Walla- Walla rivers, the hills disappear, and 
you find yourself passing over a beautiful and level 
country, about twenty-five or thirty miles broad, on the 
farther borders of which rise with indescribable beauty 
and grandeur, that range which, from its azure-like ap- 
pearance, has been called the '' Blue Mountains." This 
valley, extending from the Cascade to the Blue moun- 
tains, is about one hundred and seventy-five miles broad, 
and the traveler in passing through it, meets with a con- 
tinued succession of rocks, hills and plains of all dimen- 
sions, but generally he is well pleased with the face of 
the country. 

The Blue mountains are steep and rocky, and many of 
them also volcanic. Some are covered with perpetual 
snow. 

They run nearly parallel with the Cascade mountains, 
though at the south branches of them intersect the latter 
range. They are about midway between the Pacific 
ocean and the Rocky mountains. 

The face of the country east of the Blue mountains 
is, if possible, more varied than it is west. The southern 
part of this third region, or upper country, so far as its 
surface is concerned, is distinguished by its steep and 
rugged mountains, deep and dismal valleys, called holes^ 
by mountaineers, and wide granite plains. It wears a 
forbidding aspect. But the north part is less objectiona- 
ble-in its features. The plains are more extensive, the 
mountains less precipitous, and the valleys not so gloomy. 
Many portions of this upper region are volcanic, and 
some of the volcanoes are in constant action. 

On the eastern limits of this region, rise the towering 
summits of the Rocky mountains, which form at once 



324 OREGON TERRITORY. 

the eastern boundary of Oregon, and are every way 
worthy to separate the waters of the Atlantic ocean 
from those of the Pacific. In fine, so far as the external 
appearance of this country is concerned, in contem- 
plating its distinguished features, one is brought to the 
conclusion that there is nothing in all the descriptions of 
European or Oriental scenery, that surpasses that of this 
interesting country. 

The rivers of Oregon form the next distinguishing 
trait of the country to be described. These are princi- 
pally embraced in the Columbia and its tributaries. 

This majestic river, which drains nearly the whole of 
Oregon, like most of the large rivers of North America, 
is supplied from the inexhaustible reservoirs of the Rocky 
mountains. Some of the more important confluents of 
this river require to be particularly noticed. 

The most northerly branch of the Columbia is Canoe 
river, which rises near the fifty-fourth degree of latitude, 
and after running about one hundred miles in a southerly 
direction, unites with two others, one of which rises in a 
tremendous gorge of the Rocky mountains, under the 
fifty-third parallel, and the other flows from the south 
about two hundred miles along the base of the moun- 
tains. A traveler, in describing this gorge, says : " The 
country around our encampment presented the wildest 
and most terrific appearance of desolation. The sun, 
shining on a range of stupendous glaciers, threw a chill- 
ing brightness over the chaotic mass of rocks, ice and 
snow, by which we were environed. Close to our en- 
campment one gigantic mountain of conical form towered 
majestically into the clouds far above the others, while 
at intervals the interest of the scene was heightened by 
the rumbling noise of a descending avalanche." 

The mountain here referred to, is supposed to be the 
highest point of land in North America. The south 
river, being the largest of the three, is entitled to be 
called the Columbia, to its rise, which takes place in a 
small lake situated in the mountains, nearly under the 
fiftieth parallel of north latitude. After the junction of 
the three, the Columbia pursues a course nearly due 



OREGON TERRITORY. 325 

south, for two hundred miles, receiving a number of 
small rivers in its passage, and then unites its waters 
with those of the Mc Gillinroy and the Clark rivers, 
both of which come rushing down from the Rocky 
mountains, to swell its increasing tide. The Clark takes 
its rise near the sources of the Missouri, and, in its pas- 
sage to the Columbia, receives a number of smaller 
streams. This river rushes into the Columbia down a 
ledge of rocks, and the latter, in its passage through 
the Blue mountains, immediately after the junction, 
forms the Kittle Falls. From this point the river takes 
nearly a western course, one hundred miles, where it 
takes in the Okanagan from the north, having previously 
received the Spokan from the south and east. At this 
point the river makes another bend, and taking a due 
south course about one hundred and fifty miles, to the 
forty-sixth degree of north latitude, unites with its great 
southern branch, called the " Snake, or Lewis River." 

This stream takes its rise in the Rocky and Snowy 
mountains, near the sources of the Colorado, the Piatt, 
the Yellow Stone, and the Missouri rivers. It first takes 
a western course about two hundred miles, thence north- 
west about two hundred and fifty, to its junction with its 
kindred branch from the north. It passes through the 
Blue mountains, forming the Salmon Falls, and receives, 
in its course, the Henry, Melade, Wapicacoos, the Koos- 
kooske, or Salmon river, and a number of other streams. 

Below the junction of these two great branches, the 
Columbia receives, on the south, the Walla Walla, Una- 
tilla, John Day's river, and the De Shoots, or Falls 
river ; and, after shooting itself through the Dalls, or 
Narrows, where it becomes compressed to about one 
hundred and fifty feet wide, and in passing through the 
narrow chasm, forms, at some stages, the most frightful 
whirlpools, it glides gently and smoothly onward about 
forty miles, and then throws itself through a terrific 
chasm, which its accumulated waters have torn in the 
mountains, and rushing down a ledge of rocks, forms the 
beautiful cascades. 

Above the Dalls, the river, in many places, is very 



326 OREGON TERRITORY. 

rapid, and in one place, a short distance from the De 
Shoots, in low water, there is a perpendicular fall of 
several feet. But, when the river is high, the water sets 
back from the narrows below, so as to admit of the 
passage of boats up and down. The Cascades cannot, 
however, be run with boats either in high water or low. 

Many a poor voyager in the service of the Hudson's 
Bay Company, both at the Cascades and the Balls, has 
lost his life in attempting to navigate these treacherous 
waters. A boat filled with American emigrants, in at- 
tempting to run the Balls last fall, was drawn down 
in one of the tremendous whirlpools, and, though the 
shore was lined with people, two or three persons sunk 
and perished before their eyes. 

Below the Cascades the river continues rapid a few 
miles, but soon becomes effected by the tide. The dis- 
tance from the Cascades to the Pacific, is about one 
hundred and forty miles, and the river is navigable for 
vessels drawing fourteen feet, nearly the whole distance. 
The rivers which fall into the Columbia below the Cas- 
cades are, the Quicksand and the Wallamette, on the 
south, and the Cowilitz on the north. The Wallamette 
takes its rise in the Cascade mountains, and in that range 
of high lands which border the Pacific ocean. In pass- 
ing up the Wallamette from its mouth, the first branch 
of importance you discover, is the Clakamas, on the east 
or left-hand side, as you go up the stream, and twenty- 
four miles from the upper mouth of the Wallamette. 
This river rises in Mount Hood, and passes through a 
rough country ; though there is occasionally a fine plain 
on its banks. One mile above the mouth of Clakamas 
is the Wallamette falls. 

Here the river rushes over a precipice of rocks thirty 
feet perpendicular in low water. 

But the river below the falls often rises so high that 
there are but from six to ten feet perpendicular falls. 
This is a most beautiful cataract, and the hydrauhc pri- 
vileges which it affords, and which are beginning to be 
extensively used, are almost boundless. 

Two miles above the falls you come to the mouth of 



OREGON TERRITORY. 327 

the Tuality, which comes into the Wallamette from the 
west, or on the right-hand as you ascend the river. 
This river rises in the high lands towards the coast, in a 
number of Uttle streams which water the beautiful and 
somewhat extensive plains, which are called '* The Tu- 
ality Plains." 

This river, though small, will ultimately be of con- 
siderable importance to the country, as it can easily 
be made navigable for boats far into the plains, and some 
of the smaller branches, thirty and forty miles from the 
Wallamette, may be advantageously used for the pur- 
pose of driving different kinds of machmery. Ten miles 
above the Tuality you arrive at the mouth of the Molala 
and Harchauke rivers. These two unite but a short 
-distance before they empty into the Wallamette. The 
Molala rises in the Cascade mountains, but the source 
of the Harchauke is in a lake situated midway between 
the Wallamette river and the base of that range. They 
both water extensive and beautiful plains, in their ser- 
pentine course to the Wallamette. 

Fifteen miles above these rivers, you come to the 
mouth of the Yamhill, which rises in the Kilemook hills 
towards the ocean and, after meandering for thirty or 
forty miles through one of the most beautiful portions 
of the Wallamette valley, and, with its tributaries 
watering the extended plains through which it flows, it 
rushes down a ledge of rocks a few feet, forming a 
beautiful cascade, and hastens to mingle its waters with 
those of the Wallamette. Proceeding up the stream, 
and passing a number of small ones on each side, after 
going twenty- two miles, you arrive at what is called 
Mill Creek, which comes into the Wallam,ette from the 
south-east It is a small stream, but from its flowing 
through a beautiful, excellent and central portion of the 
valley, and affording some very fine water-privileges, it 
is regarded as being a very important branch of the 
Wallamette. 

Six miles above this comes in the Rickreal, from the 
west, which can also boast of its priviliges for milling 
operations, and of watering a splendid portion of the 
country. 



326 OREGON TERRITORY. 

Eight or ten miles above the Rickreal, comes dancing 
down into the Wallamette, from the east, the '' Santa 
Arn's Fork," being fed by the numerous rivulets which 
rise in the Cascade range. This is a very considerable 
stream, and from the facihties which it offers for water 
power, and from the nature of the country through 
which it flows, may be regarded as second in importance 
to none of the tributaries of the Wallamette. 

Above this, as far as you are disposed to advance, the 
tributaries of the Wallamette are numerous on each 
side, but resembhng those already described in their 
sources, dimensions and importance, as well as in the 
nature of the country through which they flow, do not 
require to be separately considered. 

The principal branch of the Wallamette rises in a 
snow-clad mountain, called, by British fur traders, 
" Mount McLaughlin," but by Mr. Kelly, an American 
citizen, " Mount Madison." Its general course is north, 
and after running about two hundred and fifty miles, it 
divides, and forming a long narrow Island, called Wap- 
pato Island, the upper channel empties into the Colum- 
bia six miles below Fort Vancouver, and ninety miles 
from the Pacific ocean, and the lower channel, eighteen 
miles below the upper mouth. It has been generally 
supposed that the Wallamette river runs through a flat, 
sunken country, and is therefore a sluggish and muddy 
stream, than which nothing can be more erroneous. 
True, from its union with the Columbia, for fifteen miles 
up, it bears that character, but above this, the general 
velocity of the current is from three to six miles an 
hour, and its bed is either gravel, rock, or sand ; while 
nothing can exceed the cleanliness and beauty of its 
shores. It is navigable for vessels drawing twelve feet, 
fifteen miles above its upper mouth, and for steamboats, 
quite up to the Falls. A great portion of the year it is 
navigable for light steamboats, for fifty or sixty miles 
above the Falls. In fine, the Wallamette, with its nu- 
merous tributaries, arising from its susceptibilities of 
navigation, its boundless water privileges, the extent, 
beauty, and amazing resources of the country which it 



OREGON TERRITORY. 329 

waters, may be considered as the most interesting and 
important tributary of the Columbia. 

This great artery of Oregon, twelve miles below the 
lower mouth of the Wallamette , receives the Cowilitz 
from the north, the last river of any magnitude, which 
contributes to swell its mighty flood, till it reaches the 
Pacific ocean. The Cowilitz rises in Mount St. Helen's, 
and in its passage to the Columbia, flows, in a rapid cur- 
rent, through a valley of considerable farming impor- 
tance. 

The Columbia below the Cascades, and after having 
swallowed up all its important tributaries, is from one 
mile to a mile and a half in width, until you reach to 
within twenty-five miles of the ocean. Here it opens to 
the width of four or five miles, forming, on the south 
shore. Swan Bay. In this bay, or rather broad space of 
the river, are a number of low sandy islands already 
formed, while others appear to be forming in various 
places. At the foot of this bay, is Tongue Point, which 
is a high rocky promontory extending into the river from 
the south shore. From this point to the high blufl" on 
the north shore, the river is six miles wide. Here the 
ship channel runs nearly straight across the river, and it 
generally requires, from the shallowness and intricacy 
of the channel, two or three days to pass through it. 
Below Tongue point, the river again widens to eight or 
ten miles, and a deep indentation on the north shoi'e, and 
above Chenook point, is called '' Gray's Bay," and nearly 
opposite and between Tongue point and George's point, 
and ten miles from the mouth, is the harbor of Astoria. 

Between the latter point and Point Adams, is Young's 
Bay, which extends some ways back inland, and receives 
a river called Lewis' and Clark's r-lver. This is a beautiful 
bay, about five miles broad, and the ship channel passes 
directly across its mouth. After swelling out and form- 
ing the two bays above described, the river becomes 
again contracted, so that from Point Adams to Chenook 
point, it is only five miles wide. On the north side, 
between Chenook point and Cape Disappointment, is 
Baker's Bay, which, being sheltered from the winds by 



330 OREGON TERRITORY. 

the high lands and timber which surround it, is a safe 
and comfortable harbor. The distance from Point Adams 
to Cape Disappointment is six miles. 

From the former is a channel which runs straight into 
the ocean in nearly a south-west direction, and no where 
less than thirty feet deep and one third of a mile wide. 
But the channel generally used, both for ingress and 
egress, turns north-west from Young's Bay, and passing 
round on the north-east side of Sand Island, which lies 
in the mouth of the river between the two Capes, takes 
a sweep around, close under Cape Disappointment, and 
thence in a southerly direction about three miles, where 
it unites with the south channel, and thus becoming 
one, their course across the last and most formidable bar 
of the Columbia, is south-west by west. Between the 
two channels there is an extensive bar, or island of sand, 
which is bare at low water, but the two channels to- 
gether encompass this on all sides. 

From Point Adams and from the shore around, and a 
little to the west of Cape Disappointment, and converg- 
ing towards each other, proceed those two large sand- 
bars, which, meeting at the distance of four miles from 
each point, form that fearful obstacle to the navigation 
of these waters — the Bar of the Columbia. The chan- 
nel across this bar is five fathoms deep and a half of a 
mile wide. When the wind is high from the south and 
west, the waves of the Pacific and the torrents of the 
Columbia meet upon this bar with the most terrific 
violence, producing a fine of breakers, often extending 
from one point to the other, and calculated from their 
frightful appearance to appal even the heart of a storm- 
beaten sailor. Vessels bound to the Columbia have 
often been obliged to lie off* and on at this point, for 
weeks in succession, before an opportunity offered for 
them to cross the bar. And on desiring to leave, they 
have sometimes been under the necessity of lying snug 
under the lee of Cape Disappointment for fifty or sixty 
days, the passage out meanwhile being continually block- 
ed up by these formidable breakers. This, however, is 
not the case, except in the winter or spring. 



OREGON TERRITORY. 331 

Doubtless there are rivers in the world which afford a 
greater variety of fish, than this, but perhaps there are 
none that supply greater quantities. Sturgeon are 
caught in abundance, but salmon is the principal fish. 
Of these there are various kinds, but m this country they 
are generally distinguished by the names spring-salmon 
and fall-salmon. They literally fill the rivers of Oregon, 
in their season. And at ail the falls and cascades in the 
various rivers of the country, the quantities taken and that 
might be taken, are beyond all calculation. As they pene- 
trate far into the interior, they afford almost inexhaustible 
supplies to the Indian tribes of the country, as well as the 
whites, many of whom depend almost entirely upon such 
supplies, for the first year, after settling in the country. 
The Umpqua and Clameth rivers both rise in the Cascade 
range, and both empty into the Pacific ocean. They both 
pass through beautiful and extensive valleys, but toward 
the coast, are hemmed in by mountains of rock. 

They afford also abundant supplies of salmon, which 
are caught at the Falls and Cascades. At the mouth of 
the Umpqua is a harbor into which small vessels may 
enter in safety, wind and tide favoring. This river is 
navigable for small steamboats twenty-five miles from 
its mouth. 

The timber of Oregon is not of a great variety. The 
only forests are those composed of fir. This kind of 
timber abounds on the Columbia, for one hundred and 
fifty miles from its mouth, among the mountains that 
border the Pacific, or the lower parts of the Umpqua 
and Clameth rivers, in various parts of the Wallamette 
valley, and along the base, on both sides of the Cascade 
mountains. This timber, in various parts of the country, 
grows to an almost incredible size. It is no uncommon 
thing to find trees from twenty-four to thirty-six feet in 
circumference, and three hundred feet high. One was 
measured near Astoria or Fort George, and was forty- 
six feet in circumference, ten feet from the ground. 
This tree has been cut down, but the writer has ex- 
amined the stump and is certain that the tree has not 



SSSJ OREGON TERRITORY. 

been misrepresented. If possible, on the Umpqua ri^^er, 
the fir grows longer than on the Columbia. Here, as 
also in some parts of the Wallamette valley, the forests 
are truly magnificent. 

This is the principal timber used in the country, both 
for framing, joinery and fencing purposes. Cargoes of 
it are shipped annually to the Sandwich Islands, where 
it finds a ready market at a high price. Besides this, 
there is a species of the yellow pine, which, however, is 
not of a very excellent quality, nor does it grow in great 
abundance. The oak is quite plenty in the Wallamette 
and the Umpqua valleys, and is considered, next to the 
fir, the most valuable timber in the country. 

In the upper parts of the Wallamette and Umpqua 
valleys, timber is very scarce, and if these portions are 
ever settled, as doubtless will be the case, building and 
fencing materials will be brought from the surrounding 
mountains, a few miles distant. Along the rivers of this 
lower country may also be found, in considerable quan- 
tities, the cotton-wood, alder, ash, wdllow, dog-wood, 
and white maple. The laurel is also indigenous to the 
country, and cedar of an inferior quality, abounds in 
some places. 

Beside these, there is a variety of shrubbery, among 
which are the service-berry, crab-apple, hazle-nut, and 
swamp maple. In the middle region, or between the 
Cascade and Blue mountains, timber is very scarce ; the 
trees are generally small, and of soft, useless woods, such 
as cotton-wood, sumach and willow, and found only in 
the neighborhood of the streams. In the Blue mountains 
are found quantities of pine, which, in the event of the 
settlement of the beautiful valleys of the middle country, 
may be rafted down the rivers, which pass through the 
mountains, to almost any point below, which, indeed is 
already done on the Clear Water and Walla Walla 
rivers. But many parts of the country, and particularly 
of the middle region, must forever remain destitute of 
timber, and if ever occupied by any people except sava- 
ges, substitutes for building and fencing purposes must 



OREGON TERRITORY. 333 

take the place of the fine fir, oak, pine and ash of the 
lower country. This scarcity of timber is quite a draw- 
back on many portions of the country. 

The climate of Oregon varies materially as you pro- 
ceed from the coast into the interior. To a proper 
understanding of the nature of the climate of this coun- 
try, it is necessary to consider the winter and the sum- 
mer separately and somewhat particularly. The winds 
which prevail here, as in every other part of Oregon in 
the winter, are from the south and east, sometimes 
veering to the south-west. There is no definite period 
in the fall when these winds commence blowing, but the 
diflferent seasons vary much in this respect. Sometimes 
we have a touch of them, about the twentieth of Sep- 
tember, but this is regarded only as a timely monition of 
what we are subsequently to realize. Some seasons these 
winds set in for good about the tenth or fifteenth of Octo- 
ber, but others, they do not come till late in November. 
It is impossible to calculate precisely when they will 
begin to blow, or, in other words, when an Oregon win- 
ter will decidedly set in. The commencement may be 
considered as ranging from the first of October to the 
first of January ; and the medium is about the middle of 
November. Sometimes they come on gradually, but 
some seasons they burst upon the country at once, and 
with the violence of a thunder storm. These winds 
always bring with them continued falls of rain ; and 
therefore the period of their continuance is properly 
called the rainy season. 

Along the Pacific coast these storms are more violent 
and the rains more abundant than they are in the Walla- 
mette valley. When fully set in, these rains generally 
continue, with occasionally a very short interval, for two 
or three months, and sometimes four, after which there 
is usually a month of warm, pleasant weather. This 
comes sometimes in February, sometimes in March, but 
is generally followed by three or four weeks of cold, 
chilly rains, from the south and west. During the latter 
part of winter, there are generally light falls of snov; 
throughout the country, though in the valleys and particu- 



334 OREGON TERRITORY. 

larly in the Wallamette valley, it seldom falls to more 
than two or three inches deep. 

Though the winters are disagreeable on account of 
the chilliness of the south-east winds, and the extreme 
humidity of the atmosphere, yet the cold is very mode- 
rate, the mercury seldom falling as low as freezing point. 
As a matter of course, the ground is seldom frozen, and 
therefore ploughing may be done a great portion of the 
winter. Occasionally, however, there is an exception to 
this. At one time the mercury fell in this valley to five 
degrees below zero, and at the Dalls, on the west side 
of the Cascade mountains, fifteen degrees. As this 
weather lasted for several days, the lakes were all frozen, 
so that cattle and horses could pass over them on the ice, 
and the Columbia river was bridged with it as far down 
as the mouth of the Wallamette, for twelve or fifteen 
days. But this was principally in consequence of the 
extreme cold above the Cascades, and the accumulation 
of ice in that region. A similar circumstance occurred 
in 1834. 

Considerable snow falls every year in the region of the 
Cascade mountains and around the Dalls on the Colum- 
bia. In the middle region, or from the Cascade to the 
Blue mountains, the rains begin later in the year, are less 
constant and heavy, and do not continue so late in the 
spring as in the lower country. In the latter they begin 
to taper off, generally, in the month of March, but con- 
tinue more or less through the month of April. 

It will be inferred from what has been said, that 
there is quite a difference in the winters of Oregon. 
Some are vastly more rainy than others. The winters 
of 1844 and 1845 commenced with a storm on the 
twelfth day of October, and continued with a storm of 
great and uniform violence through the months of No- 
vember, December, January and February ; then taking 
a ji^'espite for three weeks in the month of March, it 
closed with a storm, which continued through the month 
of April. But one-half of the winters in Oregon are not 
characterized by as much falling weather as is frequentlv 
experienced in the State of New York, and are, in con- 



OREGON TERRITORY. 335 

sequence of their warmness, decidedly pleasant. It will 
be understood that none of the winters of this country 
are so stormy or so cold, but that cattle and horses, with 
all other animals in the country, subsist on no other feed 
than is found on the open prairies. In the upper country, 
or in that portion which lies immediately west of the 
Rocky mountains, it seldom rains, except in the spring, 
and then it is not protracted. But vast quantities of 
snow fall in the winter, particularly on the mountains. 
This part of Oregon is extremely dry, which, with the 
vast difference in temperature between the day and the 
night, forms its most remarkable trait, at least so far as 
chmate is concerned. Between sunrise and noon there 
is a difterence of from forty to sixty degrees of Fahren- 
heit. 

If the winters of Oregon are rather stormy and un- 
pleasant, the summers are sufficiently delightful to coun- 
terbalance all this. In the months of March and April, 
the weather usually becomes sufficiently warm to start 
vegetation, so that thus early the prairies become beauti- 
fully green, and many of Flora's choicest gifts appear to 
herald the approach of summer. But the summer winds 
do not generally prevail until the first of May. These 
are from the v^est and north, and there is seldom any 
pleasant weather except when they prevail. And after 
a long and rainy winter, the people of this country look 
for the cool and healthy breeze from the bosom of the 
Pacific ocean with great soUcitude. At length the wished 
for change takes place ; the howl of the storm and the 
roar of the southern winds, are hushed to silence ; the 
hills and valleys are gently fanned by the western zephyr ; 
and the sun, pouring his floods of light from a cloudless 
sky, causes nature, as by enchantment, to enrobe her- 
self in all the glories of summer. The delightful weather 
thus ushered in, continues with but Httle variation, through 
the entire summer. 

There are, however, some showers, but they are 
much " like angels' visit's, few and far between." Gene- 
rally in the months of July, August and September, the 
ground becomes exceedingly dry. But the few rains 



336 ORECON TERRITORY. 

that fall in May and June, with the moisture which is 
deposited in the heavy dews of the valleys, serve to 
bring the grains and vegetables to maturity. The 
temperature of the summer ranges from sixty-five to 
eighty degrees at noon, in the shade, but the evenings 
are much cooler. There are few nights through the 
summer, in which a person would be too warm, covered 
with two quilts and a flannel blanket. The cool evenings, 
however, are very pleasant, and doubtless go far to neu- 
tralize the effects ojf the malaria that is exhaled through 
the influence of the sun, from the swamp and marshy 
places, which are found in various parts of the country. 
From a personal experience of more than five years, 
and from an extensive observation in reference to this 
particular, the writer is prepared to express the opinion 
that the climate of Oregon, not excepting the Walla- 
mette valley, is decidedly favorable to health. And 
why should it not be? The temperature, particularly 
in this lower country, is remarkably uniform. This 
country is not subject to the evils resulting from sudden 
changes from extreme heat to extreme cold, as in some 
parts of the States. The exhilarating ocean breeze, 
which sets in almost every day during the summer, con- 
tributes greatly to purify the atmosphere. These cir- 
cumstances, connected with the fact that there is but 
little decaying vegetable matter in the country, and but 
few dead swamps and marshes to send forth their poi- 
sonous miasma to infect the surrounding regions, are 
sufficient to show that this country must be the abode of 
health, and that human life is as likely to be protracted, 
and men as likely to die with old age in this country as 
in almost any other in the world. True, the Indians are 
generally diseased, and are fast dying off, but their dis- 
eases have not been generated in this country ; they are 
the result of their connection with diseased and dissi- 
pated foreigners. Formerly it was not so. Besides this, 
the ague and fever, which attacks many of the whites 
who come to settle in the Wallamette valley, is easily 
controlled, and finally leaves the person with a vigorous, 
unimpaired constitution, and seldom recurs to them the 



OREGON TERRITORY. 337 

second season. The persons in this country who appear 
to be the most healthy, are those who have been here 
the greatest length of time. 

The members of the Hudson's Bay Company gene- 
rally present, in the fullness and flushness of their fea- 
tures, the corpulency of their persons, and their sinewy 
and robust limbs, the most satisfactory evidence that the 
climate of Oregon must be friendly to the promotion of 
health. Indeed, but very few white persons have sick- 
ened and died in this country since its first occupancy 
by such, more than thirty years ago. Though these are 
the facts in reference to the health of the lower country, 
even yet there are persons in the States who are ready 
to publish far and near, that the climate of Oregon, and 
particularly of the Wailamette valley, is " decidedly 
unhealthy," that " the most malignant and fatal fevers 
rage in the country ;" than which, no representation 
could be more erroneous. 

It will be readily perceived from these remarks, that 
this climate is well calculated for wheat, barley, oats, 
peas, apples, potatoes, turnips, and all other vegetables 
w^hich are cultivated in the Middle States. Indian corn, 
however, does not succeed very well, though some years 
considerable is raised. The country is exceedingly favo- 
rable for the raising of horses, cattle and hogs, all of 
which thrive and multiply beyond all conception. 

If there is any difference in regard to health between 
the different portions of Oregon, probably the middle 
region, and immediately along the coast, are the most 
healthy parts. 

The climate of the Wailamette valley is more favora- 
ble to agriculture than any other portion of the country ; 
but that of the middle region is every way adapted to 
purposes of grazing and to all the pursuits of a pastoral 
life. 

But with a uniform healthy and delightful chmate, 
that is as well adapted to agricultural purposes as any 
within the same degrees of latitude in any part of the 
earth, Oregon loses much of its interest, if the fertility of 
the soil is not in keeping with the nature of the climate. 



338 OREGON TERRITORY. 

The soil of Oregon has been variously I'epresented by- 
persons who have traveled through the country. Some 
have spoken of it in altogether too favorable a light, while 
others have greatly underrated it. Some have placed it 
among the first in the world in point of fertility, and 
others have considered Oregon as a boundless desert, fit 
only to be the habitation of wild beasts and savage tribes. 
Some have viewed it as a second Eden, and others, one 
writer in particular, denounces it as a ''God-forsaken 
country that never was designed to be the habitation of 
a Christian or civilized man." These conflicting repre- 
sentations arise doubtless from a superficial acquaintance 
with the country. They have either not continued in 
the country a sufficient length of time to become ac- 
quainted with its real productiveness, or they have de- 
pended upon that information which has been artfully 
designed to prevent the true nature of the country from 
being known. 

To a proper understanding of the nature and produc- 
tiveness of the soil, it will be necessary to consider it as 
it appears in different portions of the country. As the 
Clatsop Plains are exciting considerable interest at the 
present time in the country, a description of them, with 
a view to the examniation of the soil, is desirable. These 
plains lie on the south side of the mouth of the Columbia 
river, back of that point of land which is know^n by the 
name of Point Adams. They are a portion of that low 
tract of country which lies in the form of a triangle, one 
of whose sides is washed by the waves of the Pacific, 
and the other by those of Young's Bay ; while its base 
rests against the range of mountains extending back from 
Kellimook Head, and its point or apex is washed by 
the south channel of the Columbia. The height of this 
triangle, or the distance from Point Adams back to the 
mountains, is about twenty-five miles, while the mean 
width is probably not more than four miles. The plains 
themselves are about twenty miles long and from one to 
two and a half broad. They contain about forty square 
miles. They lie directly on the shore of the Pacific, and 
command a fine view of all the ships that pass over the 



OREGON TERRITORY. 339 

bar of the Columbia. There is a beautiful sand-beach 
extending their entire length, which, at low water, forms 
a firm and commodious road. Between the plains and 
Young's Bay, there is a tract of timber land, comprising 
about twice as much as the plains, but similar in every 
other respect, except the dense forest of fir, spruce, 
pine, cedar, hemlock and alder, by which it is shaded. 
It is quite probable that the entire tract of land above 
described, has been formed by the vast quantities of 
sands and vegetable substances which have been con- 
veyed from time immemorial, by the Columbia river to 
the ocean, and deposited by the ceaseless action of tide. 
The evidences of this are, first, the fact that the soil is 
of the same alluvial character that appears on the banks 
of the river above ; secondly, from the several ridges, 
or undulations, which curve precisely wdth the shore of 
the ocean, and all of which appear to have successively 
formed the boundary of the deep ; and, thirdly, from 
the fact, that shells and other marine substances are 
found deeply embedded in the sands thus deposited, in a 
perfect state of petrifaction. But it is only necessary 
for a man to walk up from tide-water to the ridge near- 
est the ocean, and cast his eye over the gentle undula- 
tions of this tract, for him to become convinced that it 
has been redeemed from the waters of the Pacific. 
These remarks have been deemed important, in oi'der 
to show the true nature of the soil of this important 
point of Oregon. 

It will be perceived that the foundation of the soil is 
sand. In some places this sand is bare, but even here, 
w^here the wdnds admit of vegetation taking root, its 
growth shows clearly that this sand is far from being 
destitute of vegetative properties. On the plains, how- 
ever, this sand is covered with a black mould, which is 
from six to ten inches deep, and w^hich doubtless has been 
formed by the constant decay of the various kinds of 
vegetation, which here grow in abundance. This black 
mould, with a portion of the sand beneath, forms a rich 
and productive soil, which, from its proximity to the 
ocean, and perhaps from the nature of the soil itself, is 



340 OREGON TERRITORY. 

not so well adapted to wheat, but produces potatoes, 
turnips, and indeed all kinds of vegetables in abundance. 
It is also tolerably well adapted to the raising of peas 
and oats. Cattle, horses and hogs thrive on this soil as 
well as in any part of Oregon. 

The bottom-lands of the Columbia, from the Cascades 
to the ocean, are subject to an annual inundation from 
the great rise of the river, occasioned by the melting of 
the vast quantities of snow, which fall on its upper 
branches among the mountains. This flood continues 
through the month of June and into July, so that whatever 
may be the fertihty of the land thus overflown, but small 
portions of it, without immense labor and expense, will 
ever be brought to contribute greatly to the support of 
man. However, those portions of it which lie above 
high water, are remarkably fertile, and produce in abun- 
dance, all the grains and vegetables common to the best 
portions of the country. Fort Vancouver is situated on 
the most choice portion of this tract, and here a farm of 
two or three thousand acres is cultivated, and produces 
annually several thousand bushels of grain. Here also 
apples, pears and peaches are cultivated successfully ; 
with care the grape also is brought to a degree of per- 
fection. 

The uplands, or timbered lands, differ in some respects 
from the prairies. Though but few attempts have been 
made to cultivate them, yet sufficient has been done to 
prove that the soil is rather of a superior quality. And, 
indeed, this is attested by the immense growth of timber 
itself. No inferior soil could send forth those enormous 
trunks, which, in their upward progress, spread their 
magnificent branches to the skies, and often place their 
heads three hundred feet from the ground. Though the 
cost of clearing these lands is great, yet time will doubt- 
less cause the richness and fertility of this soil to contri- 
bute to the support of its future cultivators. 

The soil of the country around Puget's Sound is of a 
very different character. The country to appearance 
is beautiful. The prairies are extensive ; the harbor is 
fine, and the scenery delightful ; but, strictly speaking 



ORfiGON TERRITORY. 34j 

there is no soil to the country. The prairies are all 
composed of shingle land, or small stone, or gravel, with- 
out scarcely any mixture of soil. Indeed, there are but 
few places, and these are very small spots, where any 
thing can be raised. Attempts have been made to redeem 
it from its native barrenness, but as yet all have failed. 

The Hudson's Bay Company transported some of their 
surplus population at Red river, on the east side of the 
Rocky mountains, to this region ; but, in consequence of 
the amazing sterility of the country, they soon became 
discouraged, and, contrary to the wishes of the Company, 
they have abandoned the place and have settled else- 
where. This is sufficient to show the nature of the soil 
in this portion of the country. And in view of these facts, 
how has it come to pass that some persons after having 
visited this region, publish it as being distinguished alike 
for the salubrity of its cHmate and the fertility of its 
soil 1 The climate indeed is delightful, but the soil is 
exceedingly forbidding, and cannot, perhaps, be re- 
covered from its extreme barrenness. 

Of all the different parts of Oregon, it is unquestionable 
that the Wallamette valley is entitled to be called the 
garden of the country, so far as the fertility of its soil is 
concerned. The close observer, in traveling through 
this valley, will discover several kinds of soil. On the 
lower, or first bottoms, in some places, a sandy soil 
appears, in others, a kind of black marl or loam. There 
is but little difference in the productiveness of the two 
kinds. They both appear to be the alluvial deposits of 
the Wallamette river. On the second bottoms, or high 
prairies, as they are called in the country, the soil is a 
dark loamy clay, and is equally as strong and fertile as 
that on the lower grounds. Higher up the river, in the 
region of the Santa Arn's fork, and embracing tracts of 
considerable extent, you come to a gravelly soil, which 
is less productive than any other in the valley. How- 
ever, this last embraces but a small proportion of the 
valley. As the most of the country is embraced in the 
high prairies, there is much more of the clayey land than 
of any other kind. But the goodness of the soil is better 



342 OREGON TERRITORY. 

ascertained by examining the crops which are annually 
taken from the land. 

The writer of this has formerly resided, for years 
together, in the great wheat growing country of the State 
of New York, and has been an attentive observer of the 
amount of labor necessary to be performed to put into 
the granary the wheat raised from an acre of ground. 
He has also, for several succeeding years, observed the 
same in the Wallamette valley ; and the result of these 
observations has brought him to the conclusion, that it 
requires less labor in this country to raise one bushel or 
a thousand bushels of wheat, than it does on any part 
of the Genesee flats. The prairies of this country, in 
many important respects, are unlike those of any other 
country. They are naturally very mellow, and appear, 
as one is passing over them, as though it had been but a 
year or two since they were cultivated. They are not 
swarded over with a thick strong turf, as in the Western 
States. They can be easily ploughed with one good 
span of horses the first time, and when thus ploughed, 
they are ready to receive the seed, and seldom fail, even 
the first crop, of yielding from fifteen to twenty-five 
bushels per Enghsh acre. The first crops are never so 
good as the succeeding ones. Farmers have, in a num- 
ber of instances, without using any extraordinary means, 
taken from fifty to sixty-five bushels of wheat from an 
acre, and this has been an average of fields containing 
from ten to fifteen acres. But this is, by no means, the 
common yield after the first crop, though, doubtless, if 
farmers in this country would cultivate less ground and 
bestow on it the same quantity of labor, they would 
realize much more from the acre than they now do. 
Under the present system of cultivation in this country, 
the average amount taken from the acre is in the vicinity 
of twenty-five bushels. 

Unlike any other portions of the world, a good crop 
of wheat, provided the seed is put into the ground in its 
season and in a proper manner, is as sure to reward the 
labor of the husbandman, as that day and night will con- 
tinue until harvest time. This, perhaps, is not owing so 



OREGON TERRITORY. 343 

much to the quahty of the soil, as to the nature of the 
chmate. And it is difficult to conceive of any circum- 
stance that can prevent this result, so long as the present 
laws of nature, which regulate the seasons of Oregon, 
are allowed to operate. But this is not the case with 
regard to all other crops. 

Potatoes frequently fail from a want of rain the latter 
part of the season ; or, if they do not entirely fail, the 
crops are often very light. 

This is the case with all spring crops, particularly if 
the seed is put in late. They are liable to suffer from 
drought before they ripen in the fall. However, during 
the last five years, there has not been a failure in any 
of the crops. Some years have not been as productive 
as others, in the spring crops, but a majority of the 
years, these have all succeeded to admiration, with the 
exception of Indian corn. This valuable species of pro- 
duce will never be raised, to any considerable extent, in 
this country, though some seasons it succeeds tolerably 
well. The cool nights and dry summers are obstacles 
that it cannot overcome. The soil of this valley as well 
as the chmate, is well adapted to the raising of melons, 
squashes, cucumbers, beets, cabbages, and all kinds of 
garden vegetables. Apples, peaches, and other kinds 
of fruit, flourish, so far as they have been cultivated ; 
and from present appearances, it is quite likely that the 
time is not far distant, when the country will be well 
supplied with the various kinds of fruit which grow in 
the Middle States. 

The soil of the middle region of Oregon differs mate- 
rially from that of the low country. It bears one 
general character, and consists of a yellow sandy clay. 
It produces naturally a kind of bunch grass, which is 
very nutritious, and grows in abundance on the vast 
plains of the country ; and here are also a variety of 
small shrubs, and the prickly pear. Persons in passing 
through the country along the banks of the Columbia 
river, are hable to entertain erroneous views, in refer- 
ence to the fertility of this region. The land along the 
river, is a collection of sand and rocks, than which 



B44 ORJSGON TEIiRlTORV. 

nothing can present a more sterile appearance. But 
back a few miles, the country wears a different aspect. 
And judging from the grass and herbage, which cover 
the ground, as well as from the appearance of the soil, 
the land may be pronounced at least as tolerably good. 
It is on the extended plains of this region that the 
Kayuses and Nez Perces raise their immense droves of 
horses. It is no uncommon thing for one Indian to own 
fifteen hundred of these animals. The writer once had 
the privilege of seeing at least two thousand from one 
eminence. And yet this portion of Oregon has been 
called '* a barren waste ; " an error which a correct 
knowledge of the country will certainly correct. 

It may be therefore concluded, as it has been already 
expressed, that, from the fertihty of the soil of this 
region, as well as the salubrity of the climate, as a 
whole, it is most admirably adapted to purposes of 
grazing, while on many of the streams agricultural pur- 
suits might successfully be prosecuted. 

On the Walla Walla and Clear Water rivers, attempts 
at farming have been made, and have been crowned 
with success. 

The upper region of Oregon, or that part which lies 
east of tlie Blue mountains, is less fertile than the 
middle. Though the soil of some portions of it is toler- 
ably good, yet much the greater proportion of the plains 
are either covered with a course sand or gravel, or are 
so strongly impregnated with salts of various kinds, that 
it would be perfectly useless to make any attempts 
at cultivation, though the climate might be ever so 
favorable. ^ 

What has often been said of Oregon as a whole, may 
be said in truth, of this portion of the country, namely, 
that it is an extensive barren waste, not capable of sup- 
porting more than a very small number of inhabitants ; 
but this remark only applies to the third, or upper region, 
of this vast territory. To apply it to that half of Oregon 
which extends from the Blue mountains to the Pacific 
ocean, would be doing the country great injustice. For, 
instead of this being the fact, it is the opinion of those 



OREGON TERRITORY. 345 

who have been longest in the country, and consequently 
know best what its resources are, that this portion is 
capable of sustaining as large a population, as all of the 
New England States. In fact, the resources of this 
country are great ; and it is only necessary for them to 
be known, to be duly appreciated by the people of the 
United States. A single consideration only is necessary 
to be presented to show what the country would be capa- 
ble of doing, provided it was filled with an industrious 
population. It will be borne in mind that in the fall of 

1843, an emigration arrived in this country numbering 
from eight to ten hundred persons, most of whom came 
so late that it was impossible for them to get locations 
where they could raise wheat the first year, and were 
consequently thrown upon the resources of the country. 
In the fall of 1844, another emigration arrived, numbering 
from seven to eight hundred persons. These all, with 
the entire population, depended upon the products of 

1844, for a subsistence until the harvest of 1845. Pro- 
bably not more than one quarter of the whole population 
had cultivated the land in 1844, yet they were all sup- 
ported from the granaries of the country ; fifteen thou- 
sand bushels of wheat were shipped to the Russian 
settlements ; one thousand barrels of flour were ex- 
ported to the Sandwich Islands, and thousands of bushels 
yet remained in the country unconsumed. With these 
facts before us, it does not require half an eye to 
see that Oregon can and will compete with any other 
portion of the world, in supplying the islands of the 
racific, the Russian settlements, and every other flour 
market contiguous, with their bread stufls, which usually 
bear, in these portions of the world, a handsome 
price. 

In connection with this it may be remarked that beef 
and pork can be raised in this country with greater ease 
and facility than wheat. And the chmate of the country 
being favorable for salting and barreling, the time is not 
far distant w^hen these articles also will be exported m 
abundance. The United States Navy and shipping in 
general in the Pacific, can be supplied with these articles 
15 



M6 OREGON TfiRRITORY. 

of consumption from this country more reasonably, per- 
haps, than from any other. Already there are many 
settlers in this valley who have from two to five hundred 
head of cattle^ and it is nothing strange for a man to be 
the owner of a hundred hogs. At present, however, 
from the great influx of population, these kinds of pro- 
perty bear a high price in the country, but the time may 
be anticipated, when the home market will not be so 
extensivCy and then the vast supplies from this quarter 
must find an outlet. 

The facilities for lumbering in the country have 
already been presented ; and, in addition, it should be 
observed that, with the vast amount of salmon which 
may be barreled annually, and the products of dairies, 
for conducting which the country offers the greatest 
facilities, the exports of Oregon, in proportion to the 
number of its inhabitants, may equal those of any portions 
of the United States. 

In this exhibition of the wealth and resources of Ore- 
gon, there is one more subject that ought not to be over- 
looked, viz: the facility with which a man comparatively 
poor, can place himself entirely above want. Individuals 
have^ in some instances, arrived in this country in the 
month of September ; have settled immediately on some 
of the fine prairies, and with but little, except good health 
and sound limbs, have harvested, the following season, 
of their own sowing, from fifty to one hundred and fifty 
acres of w^heat. 

And, indeed, there are few countries, perhaps none, in 
which a poor man, when once he has surmounted the 
difficulties of getting here, in which he can get a better 
living, and get it easier, than in this. Such is the testi- 
mony of every person who tries it for one or two years. 
But every country has its defects, and this is not entirely 
free from them. It is neither the garden of Eden, nor 
is it a barren desert. It does not " flow with honey,'* 
like the land of Canaan ; but in some places it literally 
flows with milk. And, though it is not a " land of wine," 
yet, in the more necessary articles of '* corn and oil," it 
greatly abounds. 



OREGON TERRITORY. 347 

That it is a land of mountains and valleys, of rivers 
and streams, of mighty forests and extended prairies, of a 
salubrious and healthy climate, and a rich and productive 
soil, the foregoing remarks will clearly show^. In fine, 
it is every vv^ay entitled to be called a good country. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



Oregon territory — Its history — Spanish discoveries — Measures of the English — Sil 
Francis Drake — Heceta — Isle of Grief — Bodega discovers Killemook Head — 
Discoveries of Captain James Cook — Captain John Mearls--Cape Disappoint- 
ment — Robert Gray, of Boston — First visit to the coast — Second visit, discovers 
the Columbia river — Captain Vancouver — Braughton. 

When America was first discovered, it was supposed 
to constitute the eastern limits of the continent of Asia ; 
but, as discover}^ succeeded discovery in quick succes- 
sion during the first twenty years after the arrival of 
Columbus in 1492, the astounding fact that the Genoese 
navigator had given to the nations of Europe a vast con- 
tinent, was speedily and satisfactorily established. If 
there remained any doubts as to the separation of 
America from the eastern continent on the minds of any, 
they were all removed after Fernando Magellan had 
passed from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean through the 
strait which separates Patagonia from Terra Del Fuego, 
and Vacco Nunez de Balboa had discovered the placid 
waters of the great ocean from the top of the Andes, at 
the Isthmus of Darien. Within a few years after Magel- 
lan sailed into the Pacific ocean, the Spaniards, under 
Hernan Cortez, discovered and made a conquest of the 
rich and populous empire of Mexico, and soon after fol- 
lowed the subjugation of Chili and Peru to the authority 
of Spain. The immense amount of silver which the 
Spaniards obtained by these conquests, excited the ava- 
rice of others, and crowds of adventurers of different 
nations and under daring leaders, came over and tra- 
versed the new world in every direction, eager to acquire 
distinction by plundering the rich countries which they 
might discover. Defeated in their objects, they, how- 



OREGON TERRITORY. 349 

ever, collected much information respecting those regions 
which otherwise might not have been explored, perhaps, 
for centuries. 

In 1532, forty years after the discovery of Columbus, 
the coast of the American continent had been explored 
from the Gulf of Mexico on the Atlantic side, to the 
Strait of Magellan, and on the Pacific side from the same 
Strait to a place called Culiacan, situate near the eastern 
side of the entrance to the Gulf of California. North- 
ward of these points, both of which are near the twenty- 
third degree of north latitude, nothing as yet was known 
of that vast region which was destined to teem with so 
many millions of human beings. Up to 1578, the Span- 
iards were the principal actors in prosecuting discoveries 
along the Pacific coast. Expeditions were fitted out by 
Cortez and by his successor in the viceroyalty of Mexico, 
Don Antonio de Mendoza, which sailed northward from 
time to time, touching at various points along the coast, 
but making no important discoveries until 1539, when 
Francisco de Ulloa, under the direction of Mendoza, 
sailed from Acapulco, north, for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing the situation and extent of that country which by 
this time began to be called California. 

Ulloa discovered that California was a continuity of 
the American continent ; for up to this time it was not 
known whether it was connected with Asia or America, 
or whether it was not a country by itself. There is 
satisfactory evidence that some of these early explorers 
saw the coast up as high as the thirty-fourth degree of 
north latitude, and in 1543, a navigator by the name of 
Ferrelo, is said to have extended his discoveries as far 
up as the forty-third parallel, and about the same time a 
land expedition was fitted out under Hernando de Soto, 
and performed a memorable march through the then un- 
known regions north of the Gulf of Mexico, till they 
reached the fortieth parallel of latitude, and then turning 
east, they fell in with the Mississippi river near the 
mouth of the Ohio, and descended it in boats back to the 
Gulf of Mexico, which they succeeded in crossing in 
open boats ; and the few that survived the fatigues and 



3^0 OREGON TERRITORY. 

perils of the enterprise, finally reached Pameco in safety. 
This expedition had a two-fold object in view, which 
was, first, to discover wealthy nations to subjugate like 
those of Mexico and Peru, and, second, to ascertain 
whether there were no navigable passages between the 
Atlantic and Pacific oceans, somewhere north of the 
Mexican Gulf. Being defeated in both these objects, the 
Spaniards desisted from any farther efforts to explore the 
north-west coast of the American continent, and did not 
renew their efforts for nearly half a century afterwards. 

Though for the present they ceased to explore the 
north-west division of the New World, yet the commerce 
of the Spaniards in the Pacific ocean was continually 
increasing, and their "Government was adopting those 
measures of restriction and exclusion which were main- 
tained with so Httle relaxation during the whole period 
of its supremacy in the American continent." * * * 
" The great object of its policy was to secure to the 
people of Spain the perpetual enjoyment of all the advan- 
tages which could be derived from the territories claimed 
by them, and, with that view, it was considered absolutely 
necessary, not only to prevent the establishment of for- 
eigners in any part of those territories, but also to dis- 
courage the rapid advancement of the Spanish provinces 
themselves, in population, wealth or other resources. 
Agreeably to these ideas, the settlement and even the 
exploring of new countries in America, were restrained ; 
colonies were rarely allowed to be planted near the 
coast, unless they might serve for purposes of defence, 
and when voyages or journeys of discovery were made, 
the results were generally concealed by the government. 
The subjects of all foreign nations were prohibited, under 
pain of death, from touching the section of the New 
World supposed to belong to Spain, or from navigating 
the seas in its vicinity." 

About this time, 1570, the principles of civil and reli- 
gious liberty were beginning to operate in England. 
They no longer acknowledged the Pope of Rome as their 
spiritual head, nor did they stand in fear of his fulmina- 
tions. And, though the successor of St. Peter had 



OREGON TERRITORY. 351 



granted to Spain a great part of the American continent, 
and, as far as possible, had confirmed her in her posses- 
sions, yet the Enghsh murmured bitterly against these 
excluding regulations of the Spanish government, and 
required '' an acknowledgment of their right to occupy 
vacant portions of America, and to trade with such as 
were already settled." 

These reasonable demands were refused by the Span- 
ish government, and the Queen of England encouraged 
her subjects, openly and secretly, to violate laws which 
she declared to be unjustifiable and inhuman. Accord- 
ingly, on the Atlantic side of the continent, we see 
these restrictive laws immediately violated by bands 
of daring English, and, in the name of free-traders and 
free-hooters, who set the Spaniards at defiance, plunder- 
ing their ships and some of their towns along the coast 
From the reports concerning the importance of the com- 
merce of the Pacific, the English had long desired to 
share in its advantages, and at length all their dread 
of the difficulties and dangers of the passage through the 
strait of Magellan were overcome, and there appeared 
on the waters of the Pacific the most renowned naval 
captain of the age. This captain was Francis Drake ; 
and, as an opinion has prevailed that he eflfected im- 
portant discoveries on the coast of Oregon, it will be 
proper to notice his movements while he remained on 

this coast. ^^ ^ ^^ 

Mr. Greenhow in his able memoirs, has collected all 
the evidences of Drake's discoveries on this coast, and 
from an account of his voyage by his chaplain, and from 
nearly all the biographical sketches of the hero for a 
century after his voyage had been accomplished, and 
from the contradictions of those writers who attempt to 
establish the opposite, he arrives at the conclusion that 
"the English under Drake, in all probabiUty saw no 
part of the west coast of America north of the forty- 
third degree of north latitude." 

Drake's visit to this coast took place in 1579, and 
proceeding as high up as the forty-third degree, and 
finding the weather cold and boisterous, and knowing 



852 OREGON TERRITORY. 

that his ship needed repairing before he could return to 
England, he turned about, and retracing his steps as far 
back as the thirty-eighth degree, entered the bay now 
called " San Francisco," where he spent the remainder 
of the winter. The following spring he put again to 
sea, and, by the way of China and the Cape of Good 
Hope, returned to England, where, immediately after 
his arrival, for his wonderful voyage and marvelous 
exploits, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, on the 
deck of his own ship. Doubtless the character of 
Drake as a hero and a great navigator, is well founded ; 
but the assertion that he explored the whole extent of 
this coast, and discovered the Columbia river, is a fabri- 
cation, and is entitled to no more credit than the fabled 
voyage of Maldorado from the north-west coast, acros, 
the continent, into the Atlantic ocean. 

That Francis Drake is not entitled to the credit ol 
being the first discoverer of the coast as far up as tht 
forty-third degree, appears from an account of a voyage, 
performed by Cabrillo and Ferrelo, two Spaniards, in 
1543, thirty-six years before the voyage of Drake. In 
the month of March they sailed to the forty-fourth 
degree, and in consequence of the suffering of their 
crews from cold, fatigue, and want of proper nourish- 
ment, they resolved to proceed no farther northward, and 
accordingly directed their course towards the south. * 
These were probably the first white men that ever saw 
any of the land embraced in the territory of Oregon, 
and they saw only about two degrees of the coast, at 
the south-west corner. 

The next discoveries of importance made on the coast 
of Oregon, were by a Spanish navigator, by the name 
of Heceta, in 1774. He was sent by the viceroy of 
Mexico from San Bias, to explore the coast north of 
the forty-third parallel, and succeeded in reaching a? 
high up as the fifty-fourth degree, where he made land, 
probably the north-west part of Queen Charlotte's Island. 
From this point he turned southward, entei^ed a fine bay 

* See Greenhow's Memoirs. 



OREGON TERRITORY. 353 

in latitude forty-nine and one-half, and proceeding down 
along the coast, saw land occasionally, but does not 
appear to have minutely examined the shore, and arrived 
at Monterey on the 27th of August. 

The following year another expedition was fitted out, 
and Heceta was intrusted with the command. He pro- 
ceeded northward, touched at port Trinidad in latitude 
forty-one, where he communicated with the natives, 
and, on leaving, erected a cross with an inscription set- 
ting forth the rights of the Spanish government to the 
country discovered. From this point he continued north 
as high as the forty-eighth or forty-ninth degree, then 
turned east, and soon saw land, which was probably the 
south-west side of Vancouver's Island, at the entrance 
of the Strait of Fuca. 

Not being able to examine this part of the coast, they 
were driven southward to within eighty miles of the 
Columbia river, where they came to anchor inside of a 
small island, near the main land. Here they met with 
a cruel misfortune. They sent some of their men on 
shore to search for water, and while in the discharge of 
their duty, they were surrounded by savages and imme- 
diately murdered. As they were numerous, the Indians 
immediately put off in their canoes to the ships, evidently 
with the intention of taking them and destroying the 
crews. But the Spaniards finally succeeded in prevent- 
ing them from boarding ; and on their departure, in 
commemoration of the event, the island was called the 
Isle of Grief At the same place, and in the same man- 
ner, twelve years afterwards, some of the crew of an 
English ship were destroyed, and by them the island 
was called Destruction Island. After this disaster, 
Heceta continued southward along the coast, and disco- 
vered the promontory which now bears the name of 
Cape Disappointment, but which the Spaniards called 
Cape San Roque. Directly south of this, and under the 
parallel of forty-six degrees sixteen minutes, he saw an 
opening in the land, which appeared to be a harbor, or 
the mouth of some river. As Heceta did not enter this 
harbor, the existence of the river subsequently was 
15* 



354 OREGON TERRITORY. 

more a matter of conjecture than of certainty, though 
it was put down on the Spanish maps by the name of 
Rio de San Roque. From these circumstances, it is at 
least inferable that Heceta and his companions were 
the first civilized men that ever saw the Columbia river. 

During the same year, 1775, another Spanish naviga- 
tor, by the name of Bodega, made the Oregon coast 
about thirty miles south of the mouth of the Columbia. 
The land first seen by them was the high promontory 
now known by the name of Kilemook Head ; but which 
the Spaniards called Cape Mizani. Bodega examined 
the coast, from this point to Cape Mendocino, in search 
of a large river, said to have been seen by Aguilar, in 
1603. But not succeeding in his attempts, he took his 
departure from this part of the coast and returned to 
Monterey. 

The next discoveries on the Oregon coast were made 
by the celebrated Captain James Cook, an English navi- 
gator, in 1778. This enterprising man left England 
early in the summer of 1777, and arrived on the Ameri- 
can coast in March, 1778. The primary object of his 
voyage was the discovery of a north-west passage from 
the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic, an object which long 
engaged the attention of England and Spain. To accom- 
plish this object, he was to explore the whole extent 
of coast, from the forty-fifth degree as far north as the 
weather and ice would allow him to proceed. He first 
made land near the forty-second degree of latitude ; but 
by the violence of storms, was driven still farther to the 
south. However, the wind becoming more favorable, 
he proceeded on his course to the northward, and on the 
22d of March, he found himself in sight of the coast a 
little beyond the forty-eighth degree. The land here 
discovered by Cook was the projecting point of the con- 
tinent at the entrance of the strait of Juan De Fuca, to 
which he gave the name of Cape Flattery, and which is 
the north-west corner of Oregon territory. Cook ex- 
amined the coast a few miles south of this point ; but not 
succeeding in his object here, he soon continued north, 
and in latitude forty-nine and a half, cast anchor in a 



OREGON TERRITORY. 355 

spacious and secure harbor, to which he subsequently 
gave the name of Nootka Sound. Here he continued 
several wrecks, during which he held constant intercourse 
with the Indians, who appeared to be no strangers to 
white men ; and after making the necessary repairs, and 
taking in wood, water and refreshments, he again steered 
to the northward to buffet the ice and storms of the 
Arctic Ocean, in a vain attempt to discover a north-west 
passage. Thus terminated his discoveries on the Oregon 
coast. He was subsequently basely murdered by the 
natives of Hawaii. 

It is worthy of remark, that this usually fortunate navi- 
gator and discoverer was driven past the mouth of the 
Columbia river, by a storm, during the night. 

There seems to have been but little notice taken of the 
Oregon coast during the ten years which followed the 
discoveries of Cook, though at this time the coast farther 
north was very well known. As Nootka Sound was 
known to be a good harbor, after Cook's account of his 
voyage was made public, vessels, in visiting this region, 
generally steered their course for that place. But in 
1788, Captain John Meares, an Englishman, fitted out 
an expedition at Macao for the purpose of discovering 
the harbor, or river, or rather opening, which was first 
seen by Heceta, in 1775, and subsequently noticed on 
the Spanish maps, by the name of the Rio De San Roque. 
The principal object that Meares had in view, on this 
part of the coast, was to ascertain w^hether there was 
such a river in existence ; and the account which he has 
given of his discoveries, at this point, will show the un- 
reasonableness of the claims of the English, to be the 
first to ascertain the fact of the existence of the Columbia 
river. In latitude forty-six degrees and forty-seven 
minutes, he discovered a head-land which he called Cape 
Shoal Water, and proceeding south along the coast, he 
says — "An high bluff promontory bore us off south-east, 
at the distance of only four leagues, for which we steered 
to double, with the hope that between it and Cape Shoal 
Water, we should find some sort of harbor. We now 
discovered distant land beyond this promontory, and we 



356 OREGON TERRITORY. 

pleased ourselves with the expectation of its being Cape 
Saint Roc of the Spaniards, near which they are said to 
have found a good port. By half-past eleven we doubled 
this Cape at the distance of three miles, having a clear 
and perfect view of the shore in every part, on which 
we did not discern a living creature, or the least trace 
of habitable life. A prodigious easterly swell rolled on 
the shore, and the soundings gradually decreased from 
forty to sixteen fathoms, over a hard sandy bottom. 
After we had rounded the promontory, a large bay, as 
we had imagined, opened to our view, that bore a very 
promising appearance, and into which we steered with 
every encouraging expectation. 

" The high land that formed the boundaries of the bay 
was at a great distance, and a flat level country occupied 
the intervening space ; the bay itself took rather a west- 
erly direction. As we steered in, the water shoaled to 
nine, eight, and seven fathoms, when breakers were seen 
from the deck right ahead, and from the mast-head they 
were observed to extend across the bay ; we, therefore, 
hauled out and directed our course to the opposite shore, 
to see if there was any channel, or if we could discover 
any port. 

'* The name of Cape Disappointment was given to the 
promontory, and the bay obtained the title of Deception 
Bay. By an indifferent meridian observation, it lies in 
the latitude of forty-six degrees and ten minutes north, 
and in the computed longitude of 235 degrees and 34 
minutes east. We can now with safety assert, that there 
is no such river as that of Saint Roc exists, as laid down 
in the Spanish charts." 

It follows, from this account of Captain Meares, first, 
that he became fully convinced, from personal observa- 
tion, that no great river entered the Pacific ocean from 
the American continent at this point. And, second, that 
no such river had previously been discovered by English 
navigators, and that the assertion, that " the Columbia 
was discovered by Captain, afterwards Sir Francis 
Drake," must be totally unfounded. For, if the latter 
captain had made this discovery, the fact must have been 



OREGON TERRITORY. 357 

known by Captain Meares, and he would not have been 
SO ready to decide that " no such river exists." The 
truth appears to be this — up to the year 1788, it was not 
known by any civiHzed nation, that the great Colum- 
bia had an existence on the face of the globe. 

The citizens of the United States appear to have taken 
no part in the discoveries on the north-west coast, and in 
the trade opened by such discoveries previously to the 
year, 1788. At that time a company of merchants from 
Boston, sent two ships around Cape Horn, commanded 
respectively by Captain Robert Gray and Captain John 
Kendrick. 

The names of these vessels were, the Columbia and 
Washington. These were the first American ships that 
visited the north-west coast. After weathering a violent 
storm in which the Columbia, which Kendrick com- 
manded, received some injury, they proceeded to 
Nootka Sound, where both vessels spent the winter. 
The object of this expedition was to collect the fine and 
valuable furs with which the country abounds, and ship 
them to Canton. 

While these two American ships were in this part of 
the ocean, there was considerable difficulty between the 
Spaniards and the English, in reference to which had the 
best right to the country in the vicinity of Nootka Sound. 
In the settlement of this difficulty, the American captains 
took an active and efficient part, and from an under- 
standing of the whole affair, were of the opinion that, 
from a previous discovery and occupancy, the Spanish 
claims were well founded, and that the possession of the 
country was an .unjustifiable arrogancy upon the part 
of the British. But it is no part of the object of this 
sketch to investigate the subject of these conflicting 
claims. The Columbia and Washington continued on 
the coast until the month of August, 1789, when it was 
determined between them, that Captain Gray should 
take the command of the Columbia and proceed to China 
and the United States, with all the furs which had been 
collected, and Kendrick should remain on the coast in 
the Washington. 



358 OREGON TERRRITORY. 

Gray accomplished this voyage in safety, and on the 
27th day of September, 1790, again left Boston in the 
same ship for the north-west coast, and sometime in 
May of 1791, made land a little to the north of Cape 
Mendocino, or near the forty-first degree of north lati- 
tude. While proceeding northward tow^ards Nootka, Cap- 
tain Gray discovered an opening in the shore of consider- 
able width in latitude forty-six degrees sixteen minutes, 
from which issued a strong current which prevented his 
entrance. He continued off against this opening for nine 
days, with an intention, if possible, to enter it, but the 
strength of the current and probably from the appearance 
of the breakers which previously had frightened Meares, 
he was unable at this time to accomplish his object. 
Though convinced that he had discovered the mouth 
of a great river, without waiting longer for an oppor- 
tunity to enter it, he proceeded to the north, and in 
June arrived at Nootka Sound. From this point Gray 
continued his course north, and after making some im- 
portant discoveries in the vicinity of Queen Charlotte's 
Island, returned to Clyoquot, near Nootka, where he 
continued during the winter. Captain Kendrick in the 
meantime had stayed on the coast, and about the time 
that Gray went into winter quarters, he set sail for the 
Sandwich Islands, where he first opened a traffic with 
the natives, in the article of sandal-wood. Though 
Kendrick first opened this trade, he did not long Hve to 
enjoy the benefit of his discovery, but in 1793, was mur- 
dered by the Islanders. 

In the spring of 1792, the discoveries on the coast of 
Oregon were prosecuted both by the English and 
Americans. In the middle of April, Captain Vancouver 
arrived on the coast with two ships under his command, 
and commencing at Cape Mendocino, explored the whole 
extent of coast, as he proceeded to the north, and passed 
the opening which Gray attempted to enter in latitude 
forty-six degrees sixteen minutes, without considering it 
as being worthy of his particular attention, on account 
of the forbidding appearance which it presented. In 
his progress northward he says, that, '' the coast was so 



OREGON TERRITORY. 359 

minutely examined that the surf was constantly seen to 
break on its shores from the mast-head. And yet, that 
he saw no appearance of an opening in its shores, which 
presented any certain prospect of affording shelter." 
On his way up the coast he fell in with the ship Colum- 
bia, Captain Gray, who had just left his wintering place 
at Clyoquot. In their interview. Gray informed Van- 
couver that the previous summer he had been off the 
mouth of a river in latitude forty-six degrees ten minutes, 
where the outset was so strong as to prevent his entering 
for nine days. In referring to this, Vancouver says, that 
" this was probably the opening passed by us on the 
forenoon of the 27th, and was apparently inaccessible, 
not from the current, but from the breakers that extend 
across it." He also observes that he was thoroughly 
convinced, as were most persons on board, that he could 
not have passed any harbor or place of security for 
shipping, from Cape Mendocino to Cape Flattery. 

From this it appears that Captain Vancouver did not 
yet believe that such a river as was represented by 
Gray, had any existence. And under this impression he 
proceeded on to the north, while Gray, to assure him- 
self of the reaHty of his discovery of a great river, 
resolved, if possible, to enter it with his ship. While 
proceeding southward he entered a harbor, which he 
called Bulfinch's Harbor ; but passing on, arrived, on 
the 11th of May, 1792, opposite the bay which Meares 
called the Bay of Deception, immediately south of Cape 
Disappointment, and in latitude forty-six degrees ten 
minutes north. Though the breakers presented a formi- 
dable obstacle before them, and they did not know but 
that they were rushing to inevitable destruction, yet 
Captain Gray and his gallant comrades dashed bravely 
on, and discovering a narrow passage through the break- 
ers, passed them in safety, and as Gray had anticipated, 
found themselves in a large river of fresh water, up 
which they proceeded the distance of twenty miles. 
The point at which they arrived, was probably the nar- 
row and shallow channel known by the name of Tongue 
Point Channel, and which is difficult to pass, though the 



360 OREGON TERRITORY. 

river is well known. The natives flocked around the 
strangers and manifested the utnnost surprise, at what, 
they saw and heard. A traffic was opened with them 
in which furs were received from the Indians, in ex- 
change for coarse goods ; and after having continued in 
the river eight days, making repairs, trading with the 
natives, exploring the river, and taking observations of 
the surrounding country. Captain Gray again passed the 
breakers at the entrance, through the intricate channel, 
prepared to announce to the world the most important 
discovery that was ever made on the north-west coast. 

Before taking his departure, Captain Gray bestowed 
the name of his vessel upon the majestic river which he 
had* discovered, calling it the Columbia, a name which, 
in honor of the generous captain who bestowed it, and 
of the gallant ship that first anchored in its waters, it 
should forever retain. The high promontory on the 
north side of the entrance, which was called Cape 
Disappointment, by Meares, in token of his unsuccessful 
search, by Captain Gray was called Cape Hancock, and 
the low point on the south side Cape Adams. 

It has been asserted by one writer, that the existence 
of this river was long known before Gray or Vancouver 
visited it. * Doubtless, it was known by the Indian 
tribes that lived upon its banks, but if any white man 
ever saw it he was not permitted to survive to tell of 
his discovery. From a survey of the whole ground, it 
appears clearly that Captain Robert Gray is entitled to 
the credit of being the oi'iginal discoverer of this great 
river of Oregon ; a river which, when viewed as the 
only convenient or practicable channel to and from one 
of the most extensive and fertile valleys in North 
America, will bear comparison with almost any river in 
the world. 

From the mouth of this river. Gray returned to the 
north, and in the vicinity of Queen Charlotte's Island, 
while his vessel was under full sail, she struck a rock 
and received so great an injury that she was near 

* Astoria. 



OREGON TERRITORY. 361 

foundering, but he finally succeeded in getting her into 
Nootka Sound, when his damage was soon repaired. 
Gray found at this place a Spaniard who had the com- 
mand of the establishment, and to him he immediately 
communicated the results of his examinations, and par- 
ticularly his discovery of the Columbia river, which 
proved a very fortunate circumstance, for he thereby 
obtained an unimpeachable witness in his favor. He 
continued in this region a few months actively employed 
in his trade with the natives, and other business, and in 
the ensuing fall took his final departure from the north- 
west coast. 

In a discussion of the conflicting claims of the two 
governments, it had been arranged between the Spanish 
and English, that the former should surrender to the 
latter the country lying around the Nootka Sound, and 
Captain Vancouver was the commissioner from England 
to receive the surrender. The negotiations between 
Vancouver and the Spanish commissioner took place 
while Gray and other American captains were on the 
coast. The contest which was carried on between the 
two parties, however interesting, would be too tedious 
to introduce here. Suffice it to say, the place was not 
surrendered nor does it appear that the Spanish flag was 
ever struck to the British at Nootka Sound. Be this as 
it may, in the month of October, Vancouver left Nootka 
with his three vessels, the Discovery, Chatham, and 
Doedalus, having procured from Quadra, the Spanish 
commissioner, copies of the charts and descriptions of 
Gray, and proceeded southward to satisfy himself of the 
correctness of Gray's representations. Whidby in the 
Doedalus was sent to explore Bulfinch's Harbor, while 
Vancouver proceeded with the other vessels to the 
mouth of the Columbia. Vancouver's own ship, the 
Discovery, was not able to enter the river, and he there- 
fore proceeded on to the Bay of San Francisco. But 
the Chatham, under Lieutenant Braughton, succeeded, 
with great difficulty, in crossing the bar. He found lying 
at anchor in the bay the brig Jenny, from Bristol, which 
had left Nootka a few days previous. The Chatham 



362 OREGON TERRITORY. 

ran aground soon after entering^ and Braughton, from 
the intricacy of the channel, resolved to leave her about 
four miles within the bar and proceed up the river in a 
boat. Accordingly he set out, and thoroughly examin- 
ing every part of the river, he penetrated to the distance 
of about ninety-six miles from the mouth, where the 
river takes a bend and where the strength of the current 
was such as to induce them to return. This bend or 
point in the river, they called Point Vancouver. Return- 
ing to their ship they gave a bay on the north side of the 
river, the name of Gray's Bay, but the bay back of Cape 
Disappointment, they called Baker's Bay, after the cap- 
tain of the brig Jenny. 

Having remained in the river twenty days, on the 
10th of November they again crossed the bar, and pro- 
ceeded south to join Vancouver in the bay of San Fran- 
cisco. With the usual avariciousness of English aristo- 
crats, Braughton, before his departure, formally took 
possession of the river and of the country in the vicinity, 
in the name of his Britanic Majesty, " Having every 
reason to believe that the subjects of no other civilized 
nation or state had ever entered this river before ;" an act 
of justice the like of which the subjects of Great Britain 
are ever ready to perform towards American citizens. 

At the bay of San Francisco, Braughton and Whidby 
reported the result of their observations to Vancouver, 
and the former was dispatched to England, while the 
latter proceeded to the Sandwich Islands. 

Vancouver never again returned to the coast of Ore- 
gon, though he subsequently explored minutely the region 
round about Cook's Inlet. However, he sailed south as 
far as Nootka, from which place he took his departure 
for England, where he arrived in August, 1795, having 
been absent more than four years. 

Braughton having been elevated to the rank of Cap- 
tain, was again sent by the British government to the 
Pacific, and arrived on the coast of Nootka in the spring 
of 1796, empowered to receive the surrender of the place 
from the Spanish, but found it entirely abandoned by 
the whites, and in the possession of savages, under the 



363 OREGON TERRITORY. 

treacherous, cruel and notorious Maquinna. It should 
be observed that Nootka Sound is on the west side of 
Vancouver's Island, consequently it does not properly 
belong to the coast of Oregon. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 



Oregon territory — History continued— European natioas involved in war — Pacific trade 
carried by the Great Republic— Ship Boston siezed by the Indians — Land Expedi- 
tions—Captain Jonathan Carver— Sir Alexander McKinzie— Lewis and Clark — 

Project of John Jacob Astor — Captain Thorn and the Tonqum McDougal ani 

Concomley — Fate of the Tonquin — Wilson Price Hunt — Depressio^n at the fort — 
Encouragement — Ship Beaver arrives — Declaration of war — Thompson and the 
north-west company — Ross Cox— Astoria in danger — Visit of McTavish and Stuart 
Alarming news— Effect on the American company — Sloop of war — Racoon and 
Captain Black—Astoria falls into the hands of the British — Astor's magnificent 
enterprise terminated. 

For twenty years following 1796, the nations of Eu- 
rope were involved in the most bloody and destructive 
wars, and consequently but little if any interest was 
taken by either Spain or England, in the north-west 
coast of America, either as it regards its occupancy or 
its trade ; and seldom during that entire period, did the 
vessels of any other nations than those of the United 
States, appear in the North Pacific. The trade, there- 
fore, between this coast and other parts of the world, 
was exclusively carried on under the flag of the great 
Republic. 

Though they made no establishment on the coast for 
the first sixteen years, the Americans sent their vessels 
annually to this region, laden with such articles as the 
natives of the country desired, which they exchanged for 
furs. These were carried to Canton and exchanged for 
silks, porcelain, teas, and other articles suited to the vari- 
ous markets then open to American vessels. This trade 
engaged the attention of many persons from various parts 
of the Union, and in its earlier stages, fortunes were 
amassed, but it will be understood that, from the length of 
the voyages performed, the nature of the coast, the diffi- 



OREGON TERRITORY. 365 

culty of the trade, and, above all, the treachery of the 
savages v^^ith whom the traffic wsls carried on, the per- 
sons employed therein v^^ere constantly exposed to the 
greatest perils. But the dangers to which they volun- 
tarily subjected themselves, are no reason why they 
might pursue a fraudulent or abusive course with the In- 
dians. Yet, doubtless, many of them did not render an 
equivalent for the furs received, and the natives were 
sometimes deceived by trinkets that were of no value. 
Spirits were also introduced among them, which had a 
direct tendency to inflame their savage passions. Diffi- 
culties and quarrels arose frequently between the Ame- 
ricans and Indians, and it required the most extraordinary 
skill and courage on the part of the former, to accom- 
plish their business, with the ignorant and treacherous 
savages with whom they were surrounded. But very 
few vessels visited these shores during this period that 
did not suffer the loss of one or more of its crew, by 
the ruthless hand of the blood-thirsty Indian. 

Those who have read the narrative of John R. Jewitt, 
will recollect the circumstances of the bloody massacre 
of the crew of the ship Boston, in 1803, by Maquinna and 
his followers, while she was lying at Nootka. Under the 
appearance of friendship and without exciting suspicion, 
this treacherous chief laid his plans to destroy the crew, 
and seize the vessel as his own, which he cruelly put 
into execution, murdering all the crew but two, who, 
after continuing in slavery three years, finally effected 
their escape. 

Previous to this period (1803) the subject of land ex- 
peditions across the continent to the Pacific ocean, was 
agitated among the people of the United States, princi- 
pally through the representations of Captain Jonathan 
Carver, who, in 1766, explored the sources of the Mis- 
sissippi, and said he had discovered a river which flowed 
west, which he called the Oregon river, and which he 
had no doubt emptied into the Western Ocean. 

It is in Carver's account that we first detect the name 
Oregon, a name which, it is conjectured, first originated 
with Carver himself. However it might have come into 



366 OREGON TERRITORY. 

existence, it will probably be continued in connection 
with the country to the end of time. 

In 1774, Captain Carver and Richard Whitworth pro- 
jected what, in those days, was considered a bold and 
daring enterprise, which was to cross the continent from 
Missouri to the Pacific ocean, for the purpose of explor- 
ing the country and tracing out the sources of the Ore- 
gon river, which Carver said he had previously seen ; 
of passing down that river to its supposed exit, there 
building a vessel and carrying on their discoveries by 
sea. But this project, which, if it had been carried out, 
might have been attended with important results, was 
defeated by the breaking out of the American Revolution. 

A more successful attempt of this kind was made in 
1793, by Sir Alexander McKenzie. This gentleman was 
employed by the "North West Company" to explore 
those regions of the west and north, which even to fur- 
hunters yet remained unknown. In 1789, he explored 
the Hyperborean regions to the Arctic ocean ; but, in 
1793, he took a more westerly route, and ascending 
Peace river to its sources, he passed the dividing ridge, 
and entering upon a river that flowed towards the Pacific, 
he pursued it, and finally arrived on the coast of the 
Pacific ocean, in latitude fifty-two degrees and twenty 
minutes north. He supposed the river he had discovered 
was the Oregon river of Carver, but subsequent discove- 
ries have proved it to be the stream which now bears 
the name of Frazier's river. It empties into the ocean 
three degrees north of the Columbia river. 

This was the first journey performed by a white man 
across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. This, 
however, took place north of the limits of the territory 
of Oregon. 

In 1804, '5 and '6, the memorable expedition under 
Captains Merriweather Lewis and William Clark, was 
accomplished. This exploring journey w^as projected by 
the United States Government, through the recommenda- 
tion of Thomas Jefferson, who was then President. 
Captain Lewis was made the commander of the expedi- 
tion, and after much difficulty in preparing, on the 14th 



OREGON TERRITORY 36? 

day of May, 1804, they began the ascent of the Missouri 

in boats. 

After toiling the entire season, sometime near the last 
of October, they found themselves sixteen hundred miles 
from the mouth of the Missouri, and among savage 
tribes, prepared to spend the first winter of their cam- 
paign. In the spring of 1805, these indefatigable men 
continued their course up the Missouri to its sources in 
the Rocky Mountains ; passed the stupendous gates of 
that mighty chain, and on the other side came to a river 
which flowed to the westward. They followed it down 
until it became a broad and noble river, and on the 7th 
of October, embarked in canoes, and in a few days found 
themselves at the confluence of two splendid rivers, 
which proved to be the two great branches of the Colum- 
bia. The branch they descended, which was the south 
branch, they called the Lewis, and the north they dis- 
tinguished by the name of Clark. 

Continuing their downward course they successively 
passed the Falls of the Columbia, the Dalls, the Cascades, 
below which they began to be affected by the rise and 
fall of the tide, and knowing by this that they must be 
drawing near the ocean they passed on, and on the 15th 
day of November, 1805, landed at Cape Disappointment, 
on the north side of the mouth of the Columbia. 

As the rainy season was setting in they examined the 
country on both sides of the river, with a view to find a 
suitable place to make their encampment for the winter. 
They accordingly built a fort on the south side, not far 
from an Indian village, and called it Fort Clatsop, after 
the name of the Indian tribe. 

Here they spent an agreeable winter, and as the weather 
would admit, explored the surrounding country. The 
savages were peaceable, and assisted in procuring them 
food, such as the river and sea afforded, of which there 
was no lack. Here they continued until the 13th day 
of March, at which time, having made the necessary 
preparations, they commenced their long and toilsome 
journey back to the United States. They ascended the 
river in canoes as far as they could, on account of the 



368 OREGON TERRITORY. 

rapids, and then resolved to proceed by land. They 
divided themselves into tw^o parties, with the design of 
re-crossing the Rocky Mountains by two different routes. 
That under Lewis took nearly a due east course to the 
Falls of the Missouri, while that under Clark took a more 
southern route to the head waters of the Yellow Stone, 
and the two parties were to unite at the junction of these 
rivers. In the month of August, the parties again united, 
according to agreement, and passing down the Missouri, 
arrived at St. Louis on the 23d of September, 1806, after 
an absence of two years and six months. 

The journey of Lewis and Clai'k was one of discovery, 
and the first performed by white men across the territory 
of Oregon. The information which the account of these 
gentlemen gave to the people of the States, was received 
with great interest, and conti'ibuted to hasten the settle- 
ment of the north-west boundary question between the 
territories of Great Britain and those of the United States, 
as far west as the Rocky Mountains ; and also to induce 
private individuals to extend their trade with the Indians 
beyond that chain. 

In 1806, the British fur-traders of the north made their 
first establishment on the west side of the mountains. 
Mr. Simon Frazer, of the North- West Company, estab- 
lished himself on Frazer's Lake, near the fifty-fourth 
degree of north latitude, in a country since called by the 
Enghsh, New Caledonia. But the first establishment of 
the kind which was made on the waters of the Columbia, 
and within the limits of Oregon, was that of Manuel 
Lisa, a Spaniard, who was a member of the Missouri 
Fur Company, which was formed at St. Louis, in 1808. 
This was made on the head waters of Lewis' river, and 
was placed under the immediate direction of Mr. Henry, 
but, in consequence of the difficulty of obtaining supplies, 
and the continued hostility of the savages around, it was 
given up in 1810. 

At this time was formed the magnificent project of 
John Jacob Astor, of New York, in reference to a trading 
establishment at the mouth of the Columbia river. 
The Company of which this distinguished merchant was 



OREGON TERRITORY. 369 

the chief support, as well as the principal director, was 
formed in 1810, and called the Pacific Fur Company. 
Among the individuals that Mr. As tor admitted to a 
partnership in the company, were a number who had 
formerly belonged to the British fur companies, and 
being acquainted with the trade, Mr. Astor considered 
them a valuable acquisition. A gentleman, however, 
from New Jersey, by the name of Wilson Price Hunt, 
was to be the principal agent in the establishment. 

Other posts were to be established also, as circum- 
stances would admit. It was designed to send ships 
around Cape Horn to the Columbia, laden with articles 
of Indian trade, which were to be exchanged for furs, 
and these were to be sent to China and exchanged for 
goods that would suit the markets of the United States. 
The plan was well laid, and but for opposing circum- 
stances which no sagacity, however penetrating, could 
previously discover, and over which the originator could 
have no control, it doubtless would have succeeded to 
admiration. The first ship w^hich was sent out was the 
Tonquin, which was commanded by Jonathan Thorn. 

McDougal, McKay, and one or two others, who were 
partners and clerks, went in her. 

They left New York in September, 1810, and on the 
22d day of March arrived at the mouth of the Columbia 
river. As they approached the mouth, they discovered 
that the water broke in dreadful surges across the bar, 
and there appeared to be no possibility of effecting an 
entrance. And now began the heart-rending sufferings 
of that ill-fated crew. 

Captain Thorn sent off a boat to explore the entrance 
under one of his officers by the name of Fox. Fox at 
first declined, but the Captain insisted, and finally Fox 
consented by saying, ' ■ Yes, I will go and lay my bones 
by the side of those of my father, who was lost at this 
pkce but a few years ago." The party s-tarted off, and 
the boat passing over the mountain waves, slowly sepa- 
rated from the ship. Night came on, but the boat did 
not return. Another, but no boat ; the ship in the mean- 
time standing off and on. The utmost anxiety prevailed 
16 



370 OREGON TERRITORY. 

on board. What should be done 1 Another boat was 
sent off to look for the former, and also to find the en- 
trance. Two persons belonging to the latter boat only, 
survived to tell the story that all their companions were 
lost. They perished amid the breakers at the entrance 
of the river ; and thus was given the remainder of the 
crew, a most solemn warning of the more tragic fate 
which awaited them. 

Soon after this disaster the weather became more 
favorable, and the Tonquin passed the bar and came to 
anchor in Baker's Bay. After McDougal and others 
had examined the country round about, the site they 
pitched upon for the establishment of their post was 
about ten miles up the river, and on the south side. 
They built a trading house, and inclosed it with pickets, 
and gave it the name of '' Astoria," after the name of 
the projector of the enterprise. Soon after they arrived, 
the partners crossed the river to visit Comcomly, the 
chief of the Chenooks. 

When they got ready to leave to return to the fort, 
the wind was high, and the water in the bay was rough. 
Comcomly endeavored to dissuade them from crossing, 
but they resolved to make the attempt. The wary chief, 
however, sprang into his canoe with several of his men, 
and kept close along by the boat as she came into the 
high swells, believing that she would not endure the sea. 
His fears were well grounded, for scarcely had they 
started when the boat capsized, and the partners and 
their men were struggling in the water for life. Com- 
comly, however, was immediately among them in his 
canoe, and rescued them from a watery grave. 

They were now willing to stay with the chief till the 
storm abated, which took place soon afterward, and they 
returned to the fort. 

McDougal was to be the head of the concern until 
the arrival of Mr. Hunt. After considerable difficulty 
between Captain Thorn and the gentlemen of the estab- 
lishment, the goods designed for Astoria were landed, 
and the ship proceeded northward for the purpose of 
trafficking with the Indians along the coast. McKay 



OREGON TERRITORY. 371 

went in her as supercargo, and Mr. Lewis as clerk. 
The whole number of persons on board was twenty- 
three, besides an Indian, who accompanied them as 
interpreter. The ship proceeded to Vancouver's Island, 
and came to anchor in the harbor of Nittirat. Some 
of the natives came on board, but as it was too late in 
the day to traffick, McKay went on shore to see the 
chief, whose name was Wicananish, and six of the 
Indians remained on board as hostages. McKay was 
received with great professions of friendship by the 
chief, and a number of sea otter-skins were spread for 
his bed. In the morning great numbers of the Indians 
came off to the ship, apparently to trade, headed by 
two sons of the chief, and bringing with them great 
quantities of fur. The fur was spread upon the deck, 
and the goods were also displayed before the Indians by 
the unsuspecting crew. The bantering, which is peculiar 
to Indian traffick, commenced, and all for a few moments 
seemed to go on well ; but at a concerted signal given 
by the chiefs, the knives, war-clubs, and tomahawks, 
which the savages had contrived to secrete about their 
persons, were at once displayed, the crew were imme- 
diately overpowered, and nearly all of them butchered 
upon the deck. Mr. Lewis, the clerk, and some others 
had succeeded in getting into the hold of the vessel, near 
the powder magazine, and Lewis had told the interpreter 
that he intended to blow up the ship, and in this way to 
avenge his own death, and that of his companions. 

The ship was now in the full possession of the savages, 
who thronged her deck and were clambering up her 
sides, all intent upon securing their prize, and unconscious 
of the terrible fate which awaited them and which they 
so well deserved. At length the magazine was fired, 
and a scene which beggars description was then pre- 
sented. The ship was torn to atoms, and the decks in 
broken fragments, mingled with shivered boxes, barrels, 
guns, and the dissevered limbs, heads, and trunks of 
savages, were blown high into the air, and falling upon 
the dark and agitated waters, presented the most gloomy 
picture of desolation. At the time of the explosion, the 



372 OREGON TERRITORY. 

interpreter was in the main chains, and was thrown un- 
hurt into the waters, where he succeeded in getting into 
one of the canoes which were floating tenantless in the 
bay, and in this he went ashore and finally got back to 
Astoria in safety, and from him the story of the fate of 
the Tonquin is known. 

In January, 1811, Mr. Wilson Price Hunt, who had 
been appointed general agent of the concern on the 
Columbia, set out from St. Louis to cross the Rocky 
Mountains, and after he and his companions endured the 
most incredible sufferings from cold, fatigue, and want 
of food, they arrived at Astoria in the spring of 1812. 
Soon after they arrived, the shocking intelligence of the 
destruction of the Tonquin and her unfortunate crew, 
reached Astoria, and threw the whole establishment into 
the most gloomy forebodings. The disaster was calcu- 
lated to depress the spirits and destroy the hopes of the 
persons engaged in the enterprise. But the arrival of 
the ship Beaver, from New York, which brought out 
supplies and reinforcements, encouraged the Astorians, 
and they resolved to prosecute vigorously their enter- 
prise. It was determined that Mr. Hunt should leave 
the river in the Beaver, and go to the northward, for the 
purpose of advancing the interests of the company in that 
region. Astoria was left under the direction of Mr. 
Duncan McDougal, who had long been in the service of 
the North West Company. 

In January, 1813, the news of the declaration of war 
by the United States against Great Britain, reached 
Astoria by persons who had been sent by Mr. Astor 
from New York for that purpose, and served to darken 
the prospects of the company. 

On the 15th of July, Mr. David Thompson arrived at 
Astoria. This gentleman was a partner in the North 
West Company, and it appears that he designed to antici- 
pate Mr. Astor in the occupancy of the mouth of the 
Columbia, but, to his disappointment, found the American 
Company already in full possession. Whatever was his 
object, he was doubtless the first person that descended 
from near its source, the north branch of the Columbia. 



OREGON TERRITORY. 373 

About this time the Astoriaris received information that 
a British naval force was on its way to take possession 
of the mouth of the river, which appeared to be a source 
of satisfaction to McDougal and other British subjects 
who were connected with him, some of whom imme- 
diately left the service of the Pacific Company and went 
over to the rival association. One of the persons that 
quitted the service of Mr. Astor was Ross Cox, who 
subsequently pubhshed a narrative of six years' residence 
on the Columbia. 

At this time, which was in the month of January, 
1813, nearly all the persons in the establishment at As- 
toria agreed to abandon the enterprise, unless they should 
speedily receive more supplies and assistance from New 
York. Months passed away, but no assistance from New 
York arrived. Mr. Astor had dispatched the ship Lark, 
for Astoria, with abundant supplies of men and property ; 
but she was unfortunately wrecked on a coral reef, near 
the coast of one of the Sandwich Islands, and thus added 
another to the uncontrollable circumstances which served 
to hasten the dissolution of the company. 

From the representations of Mr. Astor, the govern- 
ment of the United States had resolved to send a frigate 
to the North Pacific, to succor and protect the infant 
settlement at the mouth of the river ; but as the naval 
operations on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario began to assume 
a decidedly important character, it was necessary to 
dispatch the men designed for the Pacific enterprise to 
that quarter ; and the fact that the American ports were 
blockaded by British fleets, rendered it impossible to 
convey any farther succors to Astoria. Accordingly, 
the partners of the Pacific Company, at Astoria, resolved 
to abandon the enterprise and provide for their safety, 
as they began to fear that they might be attacked by the 
British, who were already establishing themselves on the 
upper waters of the Columbia. 

A short time after the partners came to this conclusion, 
Mr. Hunt, the chief agent, returned to Astoria. During 
his absence he had visited the.Russian settlements at Sitka, 
Unalashka and Kodiak, had collected a cargo of valuable 



374 OREGON TERRITORY. 

furs and sent them to Canton ; but, on arriving at the 
Sandwich Islands, he learned that England and the United 
States were at war, and that Commodore Hillyer was 
on his way to the Pacific ocean with a squadron, to take 
possession of the mouth of the Columbia. He, conse- 
quently, chartered a vessel immediately and sailed for As- 
toria to convey the news of war, and prepare to meet 
any hostilities that might threaten them at their head- 
quarters. He arrived at Astoria in the brig Pedlar, on 
the 28th of February, 1814, and was astonished to learn 
that the concerns of the establishment had been wound 
up some time previous. 

Some time before Hunt arrived, a company of British, 
belonging to the North West Company established far in 
the interior, and under the direction of McTavish and 
Stuart, came down the river to Astoria, and brought the 
alarming intelligence that a naval force was on its way 
to the Columbia, with the object of taking and destroying 
every thing American in that quarter. Notwithstanding 
the probabiHty that the whole establishment would fall 
into the hands of the British, without their paying for it, 
yet McTavish and Stuart proposed to purchase the whole 
estabhshment, furs and other property, at a proper valu- 
ation ; and also to receive into '^ The service of the 
North West Company any of the persons belonging to 
the Pacific Company, at the same wages they were 
then receiving, and to send back to the United States all 
that did not choose to be thus employed." The partners 
of the American Company resolved to comply with this 
proposition, and accordingly the entire establishment was 
sold to the North West Company for the sum of about 
40,000 dollars. 

While this negotiation was going on, the British sloop 
of war Racoon, Captain Black, arrived at Astoria with 
the expectation of sharing largely in the plunder of that 
place, and, though he found the stars and stripes still 
floating over the factory, yet all the valuable property, 
consisting of furs, peltries, &:c., had passed into the hands 
of British subjects, and Capt. Black could do no more than 
to lower the stars and stripes, and hoist the colors of 



OREGOX TERRITORY. 375 

Britain over the walls of the factory. This he did with 
the accompanying ceremony of breaking a bottle of port 
on the flag-staff, and changing the name from Astoria, to 
that of Fort George. 

On arriving at Astoria, in the '' Pedlar," Hunt found 
that he could do nothing farther in that part of the world, 
but to close up the concerns of the company to the best 
advantage, and return to the United States. Accord- 
ingly he re-embarked in the Pedlar, with three of his 
companions in trade, and returned home by the way of 
Canton. Of the other persons who had been his associ- 
ates in this astonishing enterprise, some entered the ser- 
vice of the North West Company ; some exposed them- 
selves to the perils of re-crossing the Rocky Mountains, 
and others, of whom there are a few Hving to this day, 
took to themselves Indian wives, and fixed their habita- 
tions among the savages of Oregon. 

Thus the magnificent enterprise, conceived and prose- 
cuted by John Jacob Astor, against so many opposing 
circumstances, was brought to an unfortunate termina- 
tion. 

Doubtless, but for the unhappy war of that period, it 
would have succeeded to admiration. That it did not 
succeed, is to be sincerely regretted by every American ; 
for, in that case, the country would never have been 
divided ; long before this time, the whole of Oregon 
would have been in the peaceable possession of the citi- 
zens of the United States. But the circumstances which 
militated against the success of this mighty project, were 
purely providential, and such as no prudence or foresight 
in its originator could have possibly guarded against. 
Though defeated in its ulterior objects, it opened the 
way to Oregon to American citizens, and supplied the 
means, in the interesting journals of those who were 
connected with the enterprise, for Washington Irving to 
awaken an interest in the American public, in relation to 
Oregon, that has gone on increasing until the present 
time. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Oregon territory — History continued — Astoria restored to the Americans — De- 
scription of the Fort — North West Company remain in the country — Rival 
companies — Hudson's Bay Company — How formed — Extent of its operations 
— War between the two companies — Both merged in one — The Honorable 
Hudson's Bay Company — Policy of the company — Number and situation of 
trading forts — Immense power of the company — Colonizing the country — 
Sir George Simpson's Colony — Settlements — Fort Vancouver — Gentlemen of 
the Fort — Perils of the fur-trade — A thrilling tragedy. 

According to the first article of the treaty of Ghent, 
which provided "that all territory, places and posses- 
sions whatsoever, taken by either party from the other, 
during, or after the war, should be restored without 
delay, " measures were taken by the United States 
Government to re-occupy the post at the mouth of the 
Columbia river. In 1817, Captain J. Biddle and J. B. 
Prevost were commissioned to proceed to the Columbia, 
and there to assert the claim of the United States to the 
sovereignty of the country. These gentlemen sailed 
from New York in the sloop-of-war Ontario, on the 4th 
of October, 1817. The British Government, hearing of 
the departure of the Ontario for the Columbia, dispatched 
an order to the agents of the North West Company, 
directing them to give every facihty in their power to 
the agents of the United States Government, for the 
re-occupation of Fort George, as a place that had been 
captured during the war, and to be restored according 
to the above article in the treaty of Ghent. Captain 
Biddle entered the mouth of the Columbia in August, 
1818, and on the 19th of the same month, the flag of 
the United States was again floating over the stockades 
of old Astoria. But a more formal surrendering of the 
place by Great Britain and occupation of it by the United 



OREGON TERRITORY. 377 

States, took place the following October. On the first 
day of this month, the British frigate Blossom, Captain 
Hikey, arrived in the Columbia, bringing Mr. Prevost, 
who had left the Ontario in Chili, to attend to some 
business there, and who was empowered to receive the 
surrender of the place from the constituted British 
authorities. Captain Hikey and James Keith, the latter 
of whom was the superintendent of the North West 
Company at that time, were the persons appointed to 
deliver up the settlement in due form. The following 
is the instrument by which the country captured by the 
British, at the mouth of the Columbia, reverted to the 
United States : 

" In obedience to the commands of his Royal High- 
ness the Prince Regent, signified in a dispatch from the 
right honorable the Earl Bathurst, addressed to the 
partners or agents of the North West Company, bearing 
date the 27th of January, 1818, and in obedience to a 
subsequent order, dated the 26th of July, from W. H. 
Shireff, Esq., captain of his majesty's ship Andromache, 
we, the undersigned, do, in conformity to the first article 
of the treaty of Ghent, restore to the government of 
the United States, through its agent, J. B. Prevost, Esq., 
the settlement of Fort George, on the Columbia river. 
Given under our hands in triplicate, at Fort George, 
(Columbia River), this 6th day of October, 1818. 

•' F. Hikey, Capt. of his Majesty's ship Blossom. 
" J. Keith, of the North West Company." 

Mr. Prevost accepted this delivery in the following 
language : 

" I do hereby acknowledge to have this day received, 
in behalf of the government of the United States, the 
possession of the settlement designated above, in con- 
formity to the first article of the treaty of Ghent. 
Given under my hand in triplicate, at Fort George, 
(Columbia River), this 6th of October, 1818. 

" J. B. Prevost, agent for the United States." 

This transaction took place in 1818, and as Fort 
George had then been in the possession of the North 
West Company for more than four years, the trade of 
16* 



378 OREGON TERRITORY. 

that company on the Columbia had become firmly estab- 
lished. The fort at that time consisted of a stockade, 
inclosing a parallelogram of one hundred and fifty feet 
by two hundred and fifty feet, extending in its greatest 
bngth from north-west to south-east. Within this inclo- 
sure were all the buildings attached to the establishment, 
such as dwelling-houses, stores, mechanic' shops, &c. 
On the fort were mounted two eighteen-pounders, four 
four-pounders, two six-pound cohorns, and seven swivels. 
The number of persons belonging to the factory, besides 
a few women and children, were sixty-five, of whom 
twenty-three were whites, twenty-six Sandwich Island- 
ers, and the remainder persons of mixed blood from 
Canada. In the restitution of Fort George by Mr. 
Keith, to the Americans, it was understood that the 
North West Company would continue their occupancy 
of the country, and traffick therein according to the pro- 
visions of the article of agreement entered into between 
the United States and Great Britain, in October, 1818 ; 
which was, " That any country that may be claimed by 
either party on the north-west coast of America, west- 
ward of the Stony Mountains, shall, together with its 
harbors, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers 
within the same, be fre€ and open for the term of ten 
years, to the vessels, citizens, and subjects of the tu'o 
powers." 

The history of Oregon from 1814 to 1834, is embraced 
in the history of those rival companies of fur-traders, 
which have extended their operations, from time to time, 
from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Vancouver's Island, 
and from New Spain to the country of the Esquimaux. 
To give a particular account of these companies would 
require volumes ; a brief survey, therefore, must suiiice. 

While the French merchants of Quebec and Montreal 
were, by their agents, exploring the immense forests on 
both sides of the great lakes, and ransacking the extended 
prairies of the West and the valley of the Mississippi, in 
quest of the rich and valuable furs with which the wilds 
of North America abounded, and were furnishing France 
and other European countries with the precious luxury, 



OREGON TERRITORY. 379 

the avails of which constituted their immense wealth, a 
rival power ushered into being a corporation which is 
now grasping the supreme dominion of the forest north 
of the United States, from the coast of Labrador to the 
Pacific Ocean, and exercising an iron despotism, not 
only over the numerous persons who are in its employ, 
but also over many of the Indian tribes residing within 
the limits of its jurisdiction. For a number of centuries 
the government of Great Britain made the most extraor- 
dinary eftbrts to discover a north-west passage from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, during which Baffin and Hudson 
explored the two bays, which now bear their names. 
From the accounts given, the opinion was entertained 
that the communication could be effected by Hudson's 
Bay, and, as an encouragement to private enterprise, and 
to increase the facilities to explore the regions of the 
north, for the purpose of accomplishing this long desired 
object, Charles II, in 1669, granted a charter to a society 
of London merchants, under the designation of " The 
Hudson's Bay Company." Then commenced the opera- 
tions of a monopoly, second only in power to the far 
famed East India Company, which has opened the way 
for the extension of British ru4e ov^er a vast portion of 
the continent of Asia. For many years the Hudson's 
Bay Company confined its operations within the Hyper- 
borean regions, where it had enthroned itself in solitary 
despotism, and where it opposed itself in successful 
rivalry against a French company of a similar character ; 
but, finally, has extended itself throughout the entire 
western territories claimed by Great Britain and the 
United States, and has even laid under contribution a 
portion of the Russian American possessions. During its 
onward career it has experienced few reverses, though 
it has frequently been called upon to contend with power- 
ful opposition. 

During the year 1787, an association was organized 
among the principal fur-merchants of Montreal, for the 
purpose of carrying the trade between the posts of that 
country and such of the British territories of the interior 
as were not supposed to be included in the grant to the 



380 OREGON TERRITORY. 

Hudson's Bay Company ; and so rapidly did it extend its 
operations, that within two years its estabhshments were 
advanced as far as Athabaska Lake, near the fifty-ninth 
parallel of latitude, about eight hundred miles north-west 
from Lake Superior. This company, in its increasingly 
extended operations, proved the most powerful competi- 
tor with which the Hudson's Bay Company had to con- 
tend, but finally merged itself in the latter company. 

The Hudson's Bay Company, exercising supreme 
control over its frozen domains, at length found a new 
company advancing upon them with a menacing aspect, 
and both companies became immediately actuated by the 
spirit and motives of rivals. They became the most 
bitter enemies to one another, and as the different par- 
ties of the two companies would come in contact while 
exploring the north-western wilds, the most serious 
quarrels would take place, and result in the commission 
of injuries by each party against the other. At length, 
in 1814, a regular war broke out, and for some time 
was openly carried on between them. The scene of 
this fraternal war was the territory on the Red river, 
contiguous to the frontiers of the United States. A 
company of Scotch Highlanders had been established 
here by Lord Selkirk, in 1812, in virtue of a grant of 
the country by the Hudson's Bay Company. The 
North West Company, to which the Scotch settlement 
had proved injurious by wresting from them those sup- 
plies of provisions for their trading posts, which had 
been obtained almost wholly from the Red river lands, 
denied the validity of this grant, and hence arose many 
disputes and various acts of violence, until finally, the 
Scotchmen were driven away, and their houses de- 
stroyed by their opponents. The Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany re-established the colony the following year, and 
consequently hostilities were renewed. 

Posts were taken and burnt by each party, and on 
the 19th of June, 1816, a general battle was fought, in 
which the North Westers were victorious. The Scotch- 
men were routed, and their governor, Mr. Semple, and 
seventeen of his followers, were killed. 



OREGON TERRITORY. 381 

These affairs were represented by each party before 
the British Government, and in 1821 a compromise was 
effected between the rival companies, and they were 
united by an act of Parhament, under the title of " The 
Honorable Hudson's Bay Company." At the same time 
an act was passed, granting to this company the exclu- 
sive right to trade in the Indian territories in Northern 
America, owned or claimed by Great Britain, for the 
period of twenty-one years. Under the protection of 
this act, after the coalition of the two companies took 
place, the arms of the giant monopoly were thrown 
around the entire territory west of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, extending from the Russian settlements to the 
Gulf of California. Oregon, from fifty-four degrees 
forty minutes, south as far as they pleased to go, and 
from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, was dotted 
with forts and trading posts, and every valley and moun- 
tain was made to contribute to swell the coffers of the 
co-partners of this extensive concern. 

The grand operations of the Hudson's Bay Company 
are managed by a governor, deputy-governor, and a 
committee of directors, established in London, to whom 
all the reports of the company's affairs are annually 
transmitted. The trade of this company is under the 
immediate control of a governor, residing within the 
field of its operations, who is responsible only to the 
committee in London. Under him are inferior officers, 
consisting of superintendents, factors, traders and clerks. 
The higher officers have a direct interest or share in 
the profits of the business, but the lower are engaged at 
small salaries, with the promise of a pension for life, 
after a given period of faithful service. But the most 
numerous class of agents in the business of the company 
are the hunters, voyagers, and trappers, consisting of 
Hawaiians, French Canadians, half-breeds and Indians, 
who are paid a mere pittance for their services, and are 
kept in a state of entire subjection to the will of the 
company, by promises of future advancement, according 
as they slmll render themselves of value to the trade. 
The strictest discipline and subordination are eVery 



382 OREGON TERRITORY. 

where enforced by the officers, and generally observed 
by the servants, though occasionally there are violent 
outbreaks. 

The furs and skins which constitute nearly the sole 
returns of the trade, are principally procured from the 
Indians in exchange for coarse manufactured goods, guns, 
and a variety of worthless trinkets, calculated to please 
the fancy of the savage, without proving of any benefit. 
Some, however, are procured by the company's trappers 
and hunters. The goods employed in this business are 
all brought from England, free of duty, and, for the de- 
partment west of the Rocky Mountains, are deposited 
at Fort Vancouver. At this point, the goods that are 
wanted for the interior, are packed in bundles of such a 
size as to be easily carried by one man, as the transporta- 
tion is performed alternately in boats and by portage, 
and sent to all the posts throughout the country. Re- 
cently, however, an additional depot has been established 
on Vancouver's Island, north of the forty-ninth parallel, 
called Victoria, which, probably, will become the princi- 
pal one, as Vancouver is in the territory belonging to 
the United States. The furs collected are all sent to 
these two places, from which they are shipped directly to 
London, in vessels which arrive annually on the coast, 
with the goods and other supplies necessary to carry on 
the trade. Five or six ships of about three hundred tons 
burthen, are constantly employed for this purpose, in 
addition to several smaller craft which operate in the 
rivers and along the coast. Among the latter, is one 
steamboat, which is principally employed between Fort 
Nezqualy, on Puget's Sound, and Stikine, a post north of 
the fifty-sixth parallel. 

The number of forts and trading-posts occupied by the 
company west of the Rocky Mountains, is twenty-two : — 
Fort Vancouver, on the north side of the Columbia River, 
ninety-five miles from the ocean, in north latitude forty- 
five degrees and about forty minutes, and west longitude 
122 degrees and 30 minutes ; this fort was estabhshed 
in 1824, by Governor Simpson, and named after the dis- 
tino-uished navio-ator who was the second to enter the 



OREGON TERRITORY. 383 

mouth of the Columbia, but the first to explore the river 
as high up as the point of land on which Vancouver 
stands : Fort George, formerly Astoria, situated on the 
south side of the Columbia, ten miles from its mouth ; 
Nezqualy, on Puget's Sound, latitude forty-seven degrees ; 
Fort Langly, on Frazer's River, latitude forty-nine de- 
grees and twenty-five minutes ; Fort McLaughlin, on Mill 
Bank Sound, latitude fifty-two degrees ; Fort Simpson, 
on Dundas Island, latitude fifty-four degrees and thirty 
minutes ; Fort Stikine, on a river of the same name, lati- 
tude fifty-six degrees and thirty minutes : this fort is 
in the territory belonging to Russia, and, regardless of 
the rights of the Russians, the Hudson's Bay Company 
attempted, in 1834, to intrench themselves on the banks 
of the Stikine, which had been recently discovered, and 
abounded in the most valuable furs. Baron Wrangle, 
who was then the Governor of the Russian American 
possessions, having got wind of the project entertained 
by the English to wrest from them this important point, 
proceeded to the mouth of the river and fortified it by 
erecting a block-house and stationing there a sloop of 
war. The Russians had not been long in waiting before 
a vessel was discovered approaching the shore and bear- 
ing the men and materials for the contemplated establish- 
ment ; but, to their surprise, the British found a sloop 
of war ready to dispute their passage into the river. 
They were informed that to save themselves, their pro- 
perty and their vessel, they must tack ship and return to 
their own possessions. AH appeals to treaties, and all 
the fair promises of the English, were ineffectual ; the 
Russians were inexorable, and the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany for once were foiled in their attempt, after having 
spent in preparations the sum of twenty thousand pounds. 
Subsequently they entered into a negotiation with the 
Russians and proposed to purchase the right of trading 
on the Stikine River, for a certain number of years. To 
this the Russians listened favorably, and at length a bar- 
gain was completed, in which the English bound them- 
selves, to pay to the Russians annually, for a term of 
years, a certain sum, to be paid in the produce of the 



384 OREGON TERRITORY. 

extensive farm which the EngHsh cultivated on the Co- 
lumbia River, connected w^ith v^^hat they co-uld procure 
from the settlers in the country. On the conclusion of 
this contract the post wsls immediately occupied, a strong 
fort erected, and munitions of war provided to defend 
the establishment against the hostile Indians by which it 
is surrounded. 

With the exception of Victoria on Vancouver's Island, 
the forts and posts of the company are situated inland, 
as follows : Frazer's Lake, McLeod's Lake, Fort George, 
Alexandria, Chilcotins, Babine, and Bear's Lake, in that 
portion of the country called by the Enghsh, New Cale- 
donia ; the posts of Walla- Walla, Okanagan, and Colville, 
high up on the Columbia River ; the Flathead and Koota- 
niapost, between the two main branches of the Columbia ; 
Fort Hall, near the Rocky Mountains and on the south 
branch of the Columbia, and Umpqua post, situated in 
latitude forty-three degrees and thirty minutes, on a river 
of the same name, and about fifty miles from the ocean. 
The company also have two migratory trapping and 
trading expeditions of between fifty and seventy-five men 
each ; to the one is appropriated the.country from the Co- 
lumbia south to the Bay of San Francisco along the coast ; 
the other explores the interior between the Columbia 
and the head-waters of the Colorado and Sacramento. 

The average annual value of the furs and peltries 
derived from these territories, has been in the vicinity of 
one hundred and forty thousand dollars, for which have 
been given about twenty thousand dollars worth of goods, 
prime cost, the services of about five hundred men, 
employed in various parts of the business, shipping to 
bring supplies and take back returns, with various other 
incidental expenses. The net profits, however, arising 
from the Columbia trade, according to the representa- 
tions of Dr. John McLaughlin, who is the superintendent 
of the affairs of the Hudson's Bay Company, west of the 
Rocky Mountains, have not usually amounted to more 
than ten thousand dollars, the principal profits of the 
trade being derived from countries not embraced in the 
western department. 



OREGON TERRITORY. 385 

It has always been the poHcy of the Hudson's Bay 
Company to monopoHze the trade of those immense 
regions in North America, occupied by civiHzed man, 
and it has appeared destined to swallow up all other 
commercial enterprises coming within its reach. With 
this view, its posts have been pushed onward from time 
to time, until every important point has been occupied 
from Hudson's Bay to Puget's Sound, and its brigades 
of boats have appeared on every navigable river of that 
vast region, bearing British manufactures into the deepest 
recesses of savage life, or, on their backward route, 
loaded with furs for the great depository on the sea- 
board. On every Indian trail have been seen the sure- 
footed mule and the Indian mustang, reeling under bur- 
dens of three hundred pounds, sometimes in troops of 
scores, driven by a squadron of weather-beaten moun- 
taineers, with their rifles before them, and their long 
knives hanging at their belts ; now ascending the mighty 
mountain chain ; now plunging to the bottom of the deep, 
dark ravine ; now diving into the solitudes of the prime- 
val forest, untrodden but by the feet of wild beasts, and 
savages as wild as they, and now emerging upon the 
extended prairies, calling, wherever the rising smoke 
indicates, the presence of an Indian, and bartering the 
wampum, the gaudy ribbon, the scarlet cloth, and the 
Indian blankets, for the precious beaver, otter, and mar- 
ten, until their supply of goods is exhausted, and their- 
animals loaded with the fruits of their toils. They 
may be seen winding along the serpentine trail which 
leads back to the grand depot, happy if their numbers 
have not been diminished by the numerous casualties 
incident to the business in which they are engaged. The 
wonderful efforts of those who have controlled the desti- 
nies of this company, and the indefatigable exertions of 
the numerous agents employed to promote its interests, 
have succeeded, equal to the most sanguine expectations. 
Possessed with inexhaustible resources, and sustained 
with the most vigorous policy, they have been advancing 
in a sure march of commercial conquest. They have 
left no posts behind them unsubdued, but wherever they 



386 OREGON TERRITORY. 

have made an attack, they remain masters of the field. 
Their concentration of capital and interest gives them a 
decided advantage over the scattered capital of individual 
merchants, and to this we may attribute a great share 
of their success. A number of years ago they succeeded 
in ridding themselves of all American competition on the 
north-west coast, of which, until very recently, they have 
enjoyed the undivided monopoly. And whether on the 
cqast or in the interior, wherever the Hudson's Bay 
Company has placed its giant foot, there American trade 
has been sure to decline. 

Another feature of the policy of the company, is the 
course which they have pursued in relation to colonizing 
the country. They have always been opposed to its set- 
tlement by any people except such as, by a strict subjec- 
tion to the company, would become subservient to their 
wishes. This has, doubtless, arisen from two circum- 
stances : First, the fur-trade of Oregon has been rapidly 
declining for a number of years past, and the Hudson's 
Bay Company are fully aware that this trade alone will 
not be sufficient to sustain them in the country for many 
years to come, and to abandon the country would involve 
themselves in an immense loss. These liabilities they 
wish to guard against by opening sources of wealth in 
other branches of business, to be under their control. 
Secondly, they have had in their employment, every 
year, many hundreds of persons, consisting of Canadian 
French, Hawaiians, half-breed Iroquois, and others, who 
are under their absolute control, so long as they remain 
in the Indian country. Many of these, from year to 
year, either by having large families, by the decline of 
the fur-trade, or by superannuation, become unprofitable 
servants, and by the company are settled in various parts 
of the country, where they support themselves, and be- 
come, indirectly, a source of profit to the company. 
They wished to preserve Oregon as an asylum for their 
servants, on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, where 
they could use them to advantage, in agricultural, pas- 
toral, and manufacturing pursuits, when they could be 
no longer serviceable to them in the business of the fur- 



OREGON TERRITORY. 387 

trade. That the company have comtemplated a rapid 
decline, and probable termination of the fur-trade, west 
of the Rocky Mountains, appears from the fact of their 
having been formed into a new company, under the name 
of ^' Puget's Sound Agricultural Company," with a capital 
of two million pounds. This company has pretended to 
hold large tracts of land in the vicinity of Puget's Sound, 
under grants of letters patent from the English Govern- 
ment ; and here they have attempted to establish a 
colony, but without success. 

This attempt was made in 1842. The half-breed 
descendants of the gentlemen and servants of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, had been collecting together in a 
colony, on a small tract of fertile land lying on Red 
river, east of the Rocky Mountains, for more than thirty 
years, and so rapid was the increase of the colony, and 
so limited the arable country on the Red river, that the 
company resolved to send off a colony of the numerous 
Scotch and English half-breed ssettled on that river, to 
the shores of the Pacific ocean. Accordingly, in 1842, 
Sir George Simpson, who for many years has been the 
resident Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, by 
holding out the most flattering inducements, succeeded 
in forming a colony of some thirty families, of which he 
took the charge in person. They left the Red river 
settlement late in the spring, with their scanty supplies 
packed upon the backs of mules and Indian ponies, and 
passing through the stupendous gates of the Rocky 
Mountains, they arrived on the borders of Puget's 
Sound some time in the month of October. If the 
fertility of the soil where they were planted by Sir 
George, had corresponded with the picturesque beauty 
of the face of the country, doubtless the colony would 
have succeeded ; but in consequence of a total failure 
of the crops the first year, the colonists abandoned the 
place, contrary to the wishes of the company, and set- 
tled in a more fertile portion of the country. 

Two other settlements intended for the reception and 
support of retiring servants of the company, have been 
established in Oregon ; one in the valley of the Cowilitz, 



388 OREGON TERRITORY. 

north of the lower Columbia, the other on the delightful 
plains watered by the Wallamette river, south of the 
Columbia. As interested motives first induced the 
company to estabHsh these settlements, so it has always 
been their policy to keep them in a state of absolute 
dependence. The colonists have not only been respon 
sible to the company for the course of conduct they 
have pursued, but from it alone, until very recently, 
they have been obliged to receive all their supplies of 
foreign necessaries, consisting of clothing, groceries, 
&c., for which they have been obliged to pay in the 
produce of the soil, at prices to suit the avaricious pro- 
pensities which have developed themselves in the whole 
poUcy of the Hudson's Bay Company. 

The oppressive measures adopted by the company, in 
reference to these settlements, were such as to cause 
them to languish for years, and to induce some of the 
most active and enterprising among the settlers, to take 
refuge in the United States. 

Fort Vancouver, after it became the grand depot of 
the company west of the mountains, was the most 
important point occupied by them, and the settlement 
there established, differed from those already described, 
in the important particular, that every person connected 
with it, was in the immediate service of the company. 
The fort, in 1845, consisted in a stockade, inclosing a 
space of ground of about eight hundred feet long, and 
five hundred broad, with a bastion at one corner, with 
three gates in front, for ingress and egress, and one in 
the rear. In addition to the artillery mounted in the 
bastion, there were two eighteen-pounders and two 
swivels planted in front of the residence of the chief 
factors, and commanding the principal entrance to the 
fort. 

Within this inclosure were situated some thirty build- 
ings, serving as dwelling-houses, stores, magazines, and 
work-shops. Near the fort are the buildings occupied 
by the servants, as also a hospital, barns, and a large 
boat-house. In the rear of the fort the company have 
a splendid garden in the highest state of cultivation, 



OREGON TERRITORY. 389 

which produces all kinds of fruit for which the climate 
is adapted, such as apples, peaches, pears and grapes. 
Here is also cultivated a large farm of some three thou- 
sand acres, producing wheat, barley, oats, peas, potatoes, 
&c., in great abundance ; and herds of many thousands 
of cattle are supported on the adjacent plains. 

Connected with the fort, and about four miles distant, 
up the Columbia, are a flouring-mill and saw-mill, which 
have been in operation for several years. 

At the head of this establishment stands Dr. John 
MeLaughlin, and second to him is James Douglass, Esq., 
the former being a native of Canada, and the latter of 
Scotland. These gentlemen, as far as social habits are 
concerned, have acquired for themselves, and for the 
company of which they are chief factors, an enviable 
reputation for hospitality and kindness. Few persons, 
whether coming by land or by sea, have ever visited 
Vancouver without being received with a hospitahty 
which knew no bounds, until every want of the traveler 
was supplied. Innumerable have been the favors con- 
ferred by them upon the American missionaries, and 
their assistance has been rendered at times when great 
inconvenience, and even suffering, would have resulted 
from neglect. For all these acts of kindness these gen- 
tlemen, with many others at the various posts in the 
country, equally as well disposed, are deserving of much 
praise. But to particularize here would extend this 
account beyond the limits originally marked out ; and I 
shall therefore close this sketch of the history of the 
Hudson's Bay Company, by presenting a few circum- 
stances and incidents illustrative of the perils of the 
fur-trade, and of the character of those under-agents 
employed to prosecute it. 

The trading-post situated at the confluence of the 
Thompson's and Frazer's river, had been long under 
the superintendence of an English gentleman by the 
name of Black, who, in view of many amiable qualities, 
was in good repute among the gentlemen of the com- 
pany, and had already risen to the office of chief trader. 
By some means he had excited the jealousy of an Indian 



390 OREGON TERRITORY. 

chief belonging to a tribe residing in the vicinity of the 
fort, upon whom he had lavished many favors, but v^ho 
resolved to imbrue his hands in the blood of his bene- 
factor. 

One day, in 1842, the Indian came to the fort with 
his musket in his hand, which probably Black had sold 
him. The unsuspicious trader received him into the 
fort, and even into his dwelhng, without disarming him. 
As the Indian appeared unusually friendly, Black became 
uncommonly confiding. At length, to fulfil some request 
which the Indian artfully made, he turned his back upon 
him, and while retiring, his secret foe deliberately 
brought his musket to his face, and taking a deadly aim, 
fired, the bullet passing directly through his heart. He 
fell ; and as the Indian saw him stretched upon his own 
floor, weltering in his gore, he walked deliberately out 
of the house, passed through the gate of the stockade, 
and disappeared ; and three years subsequently the In- 
dian was still at large, and the crime unrevenged. 

Different was the closing scene of another tragedy, 
acted the following year, on the Columbia river. A 
half-breed Iroquois, by the name of McKay, was em- 
ployed for the company, on the lower waters of the 
Columbia, and resided in a small house on the north 
shore of the river, where he kept the Indian goods with 
which he carried on his trade. A few Indians of the 
Chenook tribe, knowing him to be alone, proceeded to 
his house, murdered him, and took possession of his 
goods. A friendly Indian carried the news immediately 
up to Vancouver, and an expedition was fitted out to 
pursue and take the murderers. Armed with muskets, 
they proceeded down the river, and at length came in 
sight of a canoe filled with Indians, and were informed 
that the murderers were in that canoe. They imme- 
diately gave chase, and the suspicions of the Indians 
being aroused, they also plied the paddle with all their 
might, to keep at a safe distance from their pursuers. 
Finding that the white men gained upon them, the 
Indians run their canoe ashore ; but, as they were land 
ing, they received a volley of musket balls, which 



OREGON TERRITORY. 391 

unfortunately killed one Indian woman, and wounded 
some others, while the murderers, for the time being, 
made their escape. Dr. McLaughlin, of whom all the 
Indians in the country stand in the greatest fear, sent 
word to the Chenooks that they must deliver up the 
principal instigator of the crime, or he would adopt 
some other way to avenge the murder of McKay. 
Fearing that the wrath of the company might burst 
upon the whole tribe, every man became intent upon 
delivering up the murderer. At last he was found far 
north of the mouth of the Columbia, where he had se- 
creted himself, and brought in triumph to Fort George, 
and delivered up to the authorities of the Hudson's Bay 
Company. 

Dr. McLaughlin was present, and some thirty or forty 
others, besides the Indians who had collected to see what 
would be done. A trial was instituted, the Indian was 
pronounced guilty of wilful murder, and sentenced to be 
hung forthwith. A gallows was prepared, and one end 
of a long rope thrown over the top of the gallows, and 
tied around the Indian's neck. All the white men 
present, with the exception of Rev. J. H. Frost, who 
witnessed the scene, took hold of the other end of the 
rope, the Indian standing like a statue under the gallows, 
and, at a given signal, all pulled upon the rope, drawing 
the Indian up so that his feet were some distance from 
the ground. As his neck did not break, he merely 
strangled ; but the mode of his death filled the tribes 
around with horror, and impressed every Indian with 
a sense of the fearful character of the white man's 
vengeance. This summary execution proved a salutary 
lesson, especially to the Indians in the vicinity where it 
took place. 

In the prosecution of the fur-trade, it has frequently 
been necessary for the members of the company to adopt 
the most sanguinary measures against the Indians, in 
order to secure their own safety and ultimate success. 
Hundreds of their trappers and voyagers have fallen by 
the ruthless hand of the savage, while pursuing their 
game along the valleys, or scouring the mountain chains 



392 OREGON TERRITORY. 

of the west, and none have ever prosecuted this perilous 
enterprise, who have not had repeated occasions to re- 
venge the death of a comrade, perhaps a brother, or an 
intimate friend. Out of the pale of the law, the fur- 
traders became a law unto themselves, or rather adopted 
such laws, from time to time, as the exigences of the 
case required. At one of the forts, situated in the inte 
rior, a servant of the company was murdered by an 
Indian chief, who subsequently boasted that he had com- 
mitted the deed. This chief belonged to a powerful 
migratory tribe that, at the time of the murder, was 
encamped in the vicinity of the fort, and, as he possessed 
considerable influence in the tribe, and could rally around 
him a large number of warriors, he concluded that the 
few white men at the fort would not dare to molest him. 
The commandant of the fort knowing that if this daring 
crime remained unrevenged, there would be no safety 
for the remainder of the whites, offered a heavy reward 
to any Indian or w^iite man that would take the life of 
the murderer. Some time elapsed, and, as no one dared 
to make the attempt, the murderer was still at large. 
One day it came to the ears of the commandant that the 
murderer was in camp, and might be found in a certain 
lodge at the farther extremity of the encampment. The 
commandant, who had long waited with the deepest 
anxiety for such an opportunity, seized his unerring rifle 
and, secreting it under the folds of his cloak which he 
had thrown around him, passed outside the stockade, 
and taking a narrow trail which wound along among 
the lodges, marched directly to the one where sat the 
doomed, but unsuspecting, chief, surrounded by his com- 
panions, and rehearsing his deeds of marvelous prowess 
in his numerous fights with the men of King George. 
Pulling aside the door of Buffalo skin, he stepped inside 
the lodge and presented himself in full view of the as- 
tonished Indians. He fixed his eye upon the well known 
form of the murderer, and, without uttering a word, let 
fall the folds of his cloak, and poising his rifle, aimed 
directly at the murderer's heart. The Indian perceiving 
that his hour had come, threw his arms above his head, 



OREGON TERRITORY. 393 

gave a horrid yell, fell backward and expired ; the 
ball had pierced his heart. The commandant retraced 
his steps Luimolesied back to the fort, leaving the Indians 
thunderstruck Vvdth his astonishing bravery. He has 
since been elevated to the important and honorable office 
of chief factor, to which, by long and faithful service, as 
well as by every quahiication of the gentleman, he is 
justly entitled. 

The incidents above related are not isolated, but have 
been selected from many of a similar character, which 
appear in the history of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
Indeed, it has been necessary, in order to succeed in 
their enterprise, for this corporation to carry forward 
their operations in the wilds of Oregon by the terror of 
arms. Their private trappmg parties have frequently 
been waylaid by the Indians and destroyed ; their trading 
expeditions have often been obhged to fight their way 
through hostile tribes, from one portion of the country 
to another, or perish with starvation. Sometimes they 
have left behind them a trail of butchered Indians, who 
fell before their unerring rifles, and then have halted to 
commit to a hasty grave the remains of a comrade, who 
had fallen by a poisoned arrow, from the quiver of a 
vengeful foe. Sometimes whole parties have been cut 
off, and not a sohtary person left to bear to civilized man 
the story of their tragic fate. 

On one occasion, a party in the northern wilds, at the 
head of which was the son of Sir George Simpson, was 
attacked by the Indians, and after killing a number of 
their assailants, every soul perished. Young Simpson 
owned a large grey-hound, which he had with him, and 
which defended his master to the last extremity. In the 
battle the hound received a musket ball in his leg, and 
finding he could render his master no farther assistance, 
effected his escape. Subsequently the remains of these 
unfortunate men were found through the sagacity of the 
faithful dog, which led persons to the spot where perished 
his master and his comrades. Frequently the forts of 
the company have been attacked by numerous bands of 
savages, and- it has required all the skill of the com- 
17 



394 OREGON TE8RITOKY. 

mandant, and the hard fighting of the men, to prevent 
them from falling into the hands of their foes. These 
means have sometimes failed to repulse them, and forts 
have been taken, pillaged and burned. Commandants 
have been insulted, trampled upon, and murdered. And 
it is not surprising that the company, in view of the im- 
mense loss of life and property they have from time to 
time sustained by their warlike and perfidious enemy^ 
should frequently take severe measures to awe them 
into submission. This they have done by sending out 
war parties to attack indiscriminately the offending tribe j 
and frequently in these excursions, women and children 
have been the greatest sutferers. Individual cases have 
doubtless transpired, where Indians have been wantonly 
butchered and their property seized by the servants of 
the company, but the company cannot be held responsi- 
ble for the outrages committed by individuals, unless it 
can be shown that the individuals are authorized by the 
company to commit them. Whoever has been intimately 
acquainted with the Hudson's Bay Company, and has 
observed its operations for any length of time, must be 
aware that the policy pursued by them with reference 
to the Indians, is one of the greatest forbearance and 
conciliation, and that they never resort to severe mea- 
sures except when robberies are committed, their servants 
murdered, or the safety of the company is at stake. 

Perhaps no calling under the sun, whale-fishing not 
excepted, is more perilous than the fur-trade, or in which 
a greater proportion of those Vv^ho engage in it lose their 
lives. The following incident is illustrative of the cha- 
racter of many of the under servants employed by the 
company, at the various forts in the country of the 
Columbia : — 

In the summer of 1842, Sir George Simpson, who is 
at the head of the affairs of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
in America, and who resides at Red river, east of the 
Rocky Mountains, in one of his exploring tours, arrived 
at Vancouver, and thence in a ship, proceeded up the 
north-west coast to a fort of the company, situated at 
Stikien, for the purpose of investigating the case of the 



OREGON TERRITORY. 395 

murder of John McLaughlin, Jr., which took place in the 
previous April. The murder of this gentleman had pro- 
duced great excitement in the country, particularly 
among the servants of the company, on account of the 
deceased being the son of Dr. John McLaughlin, chief 
factor, and superintendent of the affairs of the company 
west of the Rocky Mountains, and of his having been 
killed by the servants of the company, and not by Indians, 
who are the usual actors in such bloody scenes. It had 
been reported, and after he had investigated the matter, 
it was believed by Sir George Simpson, that the mur- 
derers had been influenced to commit the deed by the 
cruel and overbearing conduct of the deceased towards 
them, he being at the head of the company's business in 
that })lace ; that they had previously stolen from the 
fort several bottles of ardent spirits, of which they made 
a free use on the night of the murder, to render them- 
selves as desperate as possible, and to nerve themselves 
for the accomplishment of their sanguinary purposes. It 
appears from the testimony given, that every individual 
belonging to the establishment under the direction of 
Mr. McLaughlin, had mutually bound themselves to 
accomplish his destruction. And, as no evidence could 
be procured, except from interested persons, whose object 
would be to secure themselves, it might be expected that, 
in the first investigation by Sir George Simpson, the 
interested party would attempt to make it appear that 
the killing of Mr. McLaughlin was no more than a justi- 
fiable homicide. Accordingly, when Sir George returned 
to Vancouver, he expressed this view of the subject, as 
Dr. McLaughlin informs the writer, and stated that the 
deceased was a quarrelsome, drunken fellow, and had 
unmercifully beaten his men from time to time, and by 
his cruelty and wickedness had procured his own death. 
A subsequent investigation seems to throw more light 
upon this atfair ; and as second-hand report is not always 
to be credited, I solicited permission to examine the 
original depositions, which were readily put into my 
hands by the afflicted and venerable father of the unfor- 
tunate man, who is the subject of this short sketch. 



396 OREGON TERRITORY. 

Pierre Kanaquassee, one of the men employed in the 
establishment at the time of the murder, and in whose 
testimony the gentlemen of the company place the 
utmost reliance, gives the following narrative, in answer 
to questions proposed by James Douglass, Esq., the 
magistrate that examined him : — 

Q,. Where were you on the night of the murder of 
the late Mr. John McLaughlin 1 

A. I was in my room, in the lower part of the main 
house, where I Hved with George Heron, in an apart- 
ment in the lower story, immediately under the kitchen. 
My door opened into the passage which led to the 
apartment of Mr. John McLaughlin in the second story. 

Q. What occurred on the night of the murder 1 

A. 1 will tell you the whole story to the best of my 
recollection. 

A few days preceding the murder, five Indians from 
Tako, with letters from Dr. Kennedy, arrived at the 
fort about midnight. The watchmen hearing the knock- 
ing, called Mr. John. When he got up, he mustered a 
few hands to defend the gates in case of any treacherous 
attack from the Indians, whom they did not, as yet, 
know. They were then admitted into the fort, delivered 
up their arms according to custom, and were lodged in 
a small room in the lower story of the main house A 
day or two after this, he beat, and put one of these 
Indians, a native of Nop, in irons, as Peter was toJd, for 
having committed some theft in Tako. About eight 
o'clock of the evening of the 20th of April, Mr. John gave 
liquor to the Indians, and made them di'unk ; after which 
he called the white men, viz: Laperti, Pripe, Lulaire, He- 
roux, Bellinger, Simon, Fleury, McPherson, Smith, and 
Antoine Kawanope. During this time, Peter was in his 
own, which was the adjoining room, lying awake in bed, 
and overheard all that passed. He heard Mr. John say 
to McPherson, •' Peter is not among us — where is he ] " 
McPherson replied, that he was in bed, and he was sent 
for him, by Mr. John. Peter in consequence went into 
the room and saw all the men seated in a ring, on th ; 
floor, around a number of bottles standinsf within tlu 



OREGON TERRITORY. 397 

ring, and the Indians lying dead drunk on another part 
of the floor. Mr. John himself was standing outside of 
the ring, and McPherson placed himself on the opposite 
side of the ring ; neither of them appeared to be par- 
taking of the festivities of the evening, but were looking 
on, and forcing the people to drink. Antoine Kawanopee 
was seated on his bed, apart from the other men, per- 
fectly sober, as he told Peter afterward. Mr. John had 
ordered him not to drink, observing, ** You are not to 
drink at this time, as I am going to die to-night, and you 
will help me in what I am going to do." On entering 
the room, Mr. John told Peter to sit down with the other 
people, and ordered his servant Fleury to give him a good 
dram, which he did in a tin-pan. Peter could not drink 
the whole, and was threatened by Mr. John with vio- 
lence if he did not finish it. He succeeded in emptying 
the pan, by allowing the liquor to run into the bosom of 
his shirt. Mr. John, in doing this, did not appear to be 
angry, but in a half playful mood. Peter remained there 
about a quarter of an hour, during which time he was 
careful not to drink too much, as a few hours previously 
Antoine had called at his room and said, " My Uncle, 
take care of yourself to-night ; the master is going to die." 
Peter said, " Who is going to kill him f and Antoine 
said, " The Bluemen," meaning the Kanakas, "are going 
to kill him." This, Peter thought, was likely to be the 
case, as the men, some time before Christmas preceding, 
had agreed among themselves to murder him, and had 
signed a paper, which McPherson drew up to that effect. 
Every one of the men of the place agreed to the commis- 
sion of this deed, Smith and Heron, as well others. 
Peter's name was signed by McPherson and he attested 
it by his cross. This paper was signed in Urbaine's 
house, where the men severally repaired by stealth for 
the purpose, as Mr. John kept so vigilant a watch upon 
them, that they were afraid he might suspect their inten- 
tions, if they were there in a body. The same impres- 
sion made him also remark, in a low tone of voice, to 
Laperti, on his first entering the room, when he observed 
Mr. John forcing the people to drink, " I really believe 



398 OREGON TERRITORY. 

our master feels his end near, as he never used to act in 
this manner." 

As above mentioned, after Peter had been about fifteen 
minutes in the room where the men vv^ere drinking, Mr. 
John retii'ed, follov^ed by Antoine. Mr. John had not 
on that occasion drank any thing with the men, neither 
did he (Peter) ever see him at any time preceding, drink 
in their company. He, however, supposed that he must 
have taken something in his own room, as he appeared 
flushed and excited, but not sufficiently so as to render 
his gait in the least unsteady. McPherson also did not 
taste any thing in the room. As soon as Mr. John was 
gone, Peter also left the room, and went to bed in his 
own room. 

Peter was informed by Antoine that Mr. John, on 
leaving the room where the men were drinking, went 
up stairs to his own apartment, and he heard him say to 
his wife, '' I am going to die to-night." And he and his 
wife both began to cry. Mr. John soon rallied, and 
observed, "Very well, if I die, I must fall like a man." 
He then told Antoine to load his rifles and pistols, and 
ordered him also to arm himself with his own gun. He 
and Antoine then went out, and Peter thinks he heard 
the report of more than fifteen shots. Antoine after- 
wards told Peter that Mr. John fired at Laperti, but 
missed him, and afterwards ordered Antoine to fire at 
Laperti. Antoine refused to do so, until his own life 
was threatened by Mr. John, when he fired in the direc- 
tion, without aiming at Laperti. He also told the Kana- 
kas to kill the Canadians, and it was in part them who 
fired the shots that he (Peter) had heard. Peter then 
got up and placed himself behind his door, and saw Mr. 
John come in and go up stairs with Antoine, when he 
took the opportunity of going out, armed with his gun 
and a stout bludgeon, and found the men standing here 
and there on the gallery watching an opportunity to 
shoot Mr. John. Laperti's position on the gallery was 
fronting the door of the main house, towards which he 
had his gun pointed ; when Peter saw him, he was on 
his knees, the smafl end of the gun resting on the top 



OREGON TERRITORY. :399 

rail of the gallery, in readiness to fire. Laperti ex- 
claimed, on seeing Peter, " I must kill him now, as he 
has fired two shots at me." Peter objected to this, and 
proposed to take and tie him. Nobody answered him. 
At that moment, Smith came up to Laperti and told him 
to hide himself or he would certainly be killed. Laperti 
said, "Where can I hide myself?" And Smith said, 
*^ Come with me and I will show you a place in the bastion 
where you can hide yourself," and they went off together 
in the direction of the bastion at the corner of Urbaine's 
house. Peter, after a few minutes' stay on the gallery, 
returned to his house, as he had previously agreed upon 
with George Hebram, who was lying sick in bed, and 
who had entreated him not to leave him alone. At the 
door of the main house, he met Mr. John coming out, 
followed by Antoine, wh^ was carrying a lamp. Mr. 
John said to Peter, *•' Have you seen Laperti 1 " Peter 
answered, ^' No, I have not seen him." And then Mr, 
John said, ^' Have you seen Urbaine 1 " And Peter 
again answered that he had not. The minute before 
this, as he (Peter) was returning from the gallery, he 
had seen Urbaine standing at the corner of the main 
house, next to Urbaine's own dwelling, in -company with 
Simon, Urbaine said, " I don't know what to do ; I 
have no gun, and do not know where to hide myself." 
Simon said, " I have a gun, if he comes I will shoot him, 
and will be safe." Mr. John, after Peter passed him, 
said to Antoine, " Make haste, and come with the lamp," 
and proceeded with a firm step to Urbaine's house, as 
Peter, who continued watching at the door, saw. After 
he saw them go to Urbaine's house, he proceeded towards 
his own room, and he and Antoine called out, " Fire ! 
fire ! " Tj:ie report of several shots, probably five, im- 
mediately followed, and he heard Antoine exclaiming, 
^' Stop ! stop ! stop ! He is dead now." Antoine after- 
wards related to Peter, that on reaching Urbaine^s house^ 
Mr. John ordered him to go round by one corner, while 
he went round by the other, directing Antoine to shoot 
any of the Canadians he might meet. Mr. John then 
proceeded in a stooping position, looking very intently 



400 OREGON TERRITORY. 

before him, when a shot was fired from the corner of the 
house towards which he was goings which caused his 
death, tlie ball having entered at the upper part of the 
breast-bone, a little below the gullet, and came out a 
little below the shoulder, having broken the spine in its 
passage. Peter was also told by one of the Kanakas, 
that as soon as Mr. John fell, Urbaine sprung forward 
from the corner of the house within a few paces of the 
body, and put his foot savagely on his neck, as if to 
complete the act, should the ball have failed in causing 
death. The Kanakas immediately asked Urbaine, who had 
killed the master '? Urbaine replied, " It is none of your 
business who has killed him ! Peter, who during this 
time had removed to his house, seeing Herron go out 
without his gun, went out round the body and said, 
*' My friend, we have now done what we long intended 
to do ; let us now carry the body back to the house.'^ 
Urbaine, Laperti, Bellinger, and other white men who 
were present, replied, " When we kill a dog, we let him 
lie where we kill him." And Antoine told him they had 
previously given him the same reply to a similar propo- 
sition from him. Peter then approached the body and, 
with one hand under the neck, raised the head and trunk, 
when a deep expiration followed, w^hich was the last 
sign of animation. He had previously perceived no signs 
of life, nor did he hear any one say that any appeared 
after the deceased fell. The white men being unwiUing 
to assist him, he carried the body, with the aid of the 
Kanakas, into the main house, where he had it stripped, 
washed clean, decently dressed, and laid out. In doing 
so he received no help from any but the Kanakas, The 
wounds made by the balls were very large, both open- 
ings being' circular, and severally three inches in diame- 
ter. The body bled profusely, there being a deep pool 
of blood found around it, which was washed away after- 
wards by the Kanakas. Peter never heard that he spoke 
or moved after he fell. There was a perpendicular cut 
on the forehead, skin-deep, in a line with the nose, which 
Peter thinks was caused by his falling on the barrel of 
his rifle, though Urbaine said that he had received it 



OREGON TERRITORY. 401 

from an Indian with his dog. It was as Peter supposes 
about eleven o'clock, p. m., when he had done washing 
and laying out the body ; the watches had not then been 
changed, therefore he thinks it could not be midnight. 
The people continued coming and going during the night, 
to see the body, and Peter proposed praying over the 
body, as is customary in Canada ; but they objected, 
saying, they did not wish to pray for him. He did sit 
up with the body all night, having soon after gone, first 
to Urbaine's and then to Lulaire's house, who each gave 
him a dram, which he took, saying, "There is no need of 
drinking now ; they might drink their fill now." He soon 
afterwards went to bed. 

He inquired of Martineau, who also lived in the same 
room, if he had fired at the deceased. He replied, that 
he had fired twice. He then asked him if it was he 
that had killed him, and he said, I do not know if it was 
me or not. He (Peter) put the same question to several 
of the other men whom he saw afterwards ; they all 
said that they had not shot him, and Martineau after- 
wards said that he had not directed his gun at him, but 
had fired in the air. 

The following morning he asked Antoine Kawanope 
if he knew who had killed the deceased. He replied, 
"I know who killed him, but I am not going to tell you, 
or any one else. When the governor comes, I will tell 
him. He asked Antoine why he would not tell ; he 
said he was afraid it might cause more quarrels, and 
lead to other murders. He then advised Antoine not 
to conceal it from him, as he would tell no one. An- 
toine then said, he thought it was Urbaine who had done 
the deed. Peter observed that Urbaine had no gun. 
Antoine replied, " I think it was Urbaine, because as soon 
as the deceased fell, Urbaine rushed out from his lurking 
place at the corner of the house, where, I was informed 
by the people, he always kept his gun secreted, with the 
intention of shooting the deceased." Peter says Laperti, 
Urbaine and Simon were all concealed in the corner 
whence the shot came, and he thinks it to be one of the 
three who fired it. Urbaine always denied having com- 
17* 



402 OREGON TERRITORY. 

mitted the murder, and said, '' I am going to the Russian 
Fort for trial, and will be either banished or hung. I 
will let the thing go to the end, and will then inform 
upon the murderers." 

Simon always said that he was never in the corner 
from whence the shot was fired, and knew nothing about 
the matter ; but Peter thinks that he must have been 
there, as he saw him, as before related, at the corner of 
the main house, when he promised to protect Urbaine, 
and from the situation of the fort, he must have passed 
that spot with Urbaine, as there was no other passage 
from the place where they had been standing. Laperti 
also said he never fired at all. When Peter, as before 
related, went upon the gallery after the first firing had 
ceased, while Mr. John and Antoine had gone into the 
house, he saw all the men on the gallery, except Pripe, 
Lulaire and McPherson, and he asked each of them, 
respectively, if they were going to shoot the master that 
night, and they all answered, (as well as himself,) they 
would do so at the first chance, except Pehou, a Kanaka, 
who would not consent to the murder. Smith was then 
without a gun. 

Before the Christmas preceding Peter put the ques- 
tion to Smith, how he should like to see him kill Mr. 
John 1 He replied, " I should like it very well ; I would 
have no objection, because his conduct is so very bad 
that he can never expect to be protected by the Com- 
pany." Peter Manifree says, that Mr. John appeared 
to be aware of the plot formed by the men against his 
life, as he supposes, through the information of Fleury, 
his servant, who was aware of every thing that passed 
among them. Mr. John had often said to the men, 
" Kill me, if you can. If you kill me, you will not kill 
a woman — you will kill a man." And he kept Antoine 
as a sentinel to watch his room. One evening George 
Herron proposed taking his life, and said if he could find 
a man to go with him, he would be the first to shoot 
him. Peter refused to go, and Herron watched a great 
part of the night in the passage leading to Mr. John's 
room, holding his gun pointed towards its door, with the 



OREGON TERRITORY. 403 

object of shooting Mr. John if he appeared, as he usually 
did at night when going to visit the watchmen ; but he 
did not go out that night, or Peter thinks that he would 
have been shot by Herron, The following morning 
Peter asked Antoine if he would defend Mr. John, were 
he attacked by the people. Antoine said he would not, 
and would be the first man to seize or shoot him, should 
any attempt be made against his life or Hberty. He put 
the same question to McPherson ; but McPherson said, 
*' No ! Do not kill him till the Governor comes, by and 
by, and then we shall have redress." 

Peter also says that all the unmarried men were in 
the habit of secretly going out of the fort at night, con- 
trary to order, to visit the Indian camp, and that one 
evening when he wished to go out, he met George 
Herron on the gallery, who showed him where a rope 
was slung to the picket, by which he might let himself 
down to the ground outside of the fort, saying, " This is 
the way I and others get out, and you may do the same 
without fear of detection." On the morning after the 
murder he went into Urbaine's and Lulaire's house and 
got a dram in each of them, out of two bottles of rum 
which he saw there. He said, now Mr. John is dead, I 
shall go out of the fort and spend the day with my wife. 
Urbaine replied, " No ! No one shall go out of the fort. 
We keep the keys, and we shall keep the gates shut." 
Peter was angry at this and said to Antoine, '^ When 
Mr. John was alive, he kept us prisoners, and would not 
allow us to run after women ; and now that we have 
killed him, the Canadians wish to keep us as close as he 
did. I see we must raise the devil again with these 
Canadians, before we can get our liberty." 

Peter also says that one principal cause of their dislike 
to John, and their plots against his life, was the strictness 
with which he prevented their sallying from the fort in 
quest of women ; that he flogged Martineau for having 
given his blanket to a woman with whom he maintained 
illicit commerce, and he also flogged Lamb and Kakepe 
for giving away their clothes in the same manner. This, 
Peter says, exasperated the men. 



404 OREGON TERRITORY. 

The day after the murder many of the men went up 
to Mr. John's room to see the body, and McPherson 
remarked to them, that when the master was living they 
were not in the habit of coming up there ; but they did 
so now that he was dead. On hearing this, Peter and 
Urbaine went away and never returned. On their way 
to their own house, they met Pripe and BelHnger. 

Urbaine told them what McPherson had' said, and in 
a threatening manner said, " McPherson is getting proud 
as the other, and will be telling tales about us. We will 
not murder him, but we will give him a sound thrashing." 
And Peter says that he soon after went to Smith and 
told him to put McPherson on his guard, as the Cana- 
dians intended to attack him. Smith asked Peter what 
he would do, now the master was dead, and Peter said he 
would obey McPhersons orders. Smith replied, " That 
is good, Peter. If we do not do so, we shall lose all our 
wages." All the Canadians, and, he thinks, Simon, con- 
tinued drinking the whole of the day following the mur- 
der ; the other men of the fort, did not drink. He thinks 
it was the remains of the liquor they had been drinking 
the preceding night. Peter also says that, for a month 
previous to the murder, Urbaine, Laperti and Simon 
were in the habit of getting drunk every night on rum 
purchased from the Indians. Peter told them to take 
care of themselves, because Mr. John would be angry if 
he knew^ it. Mr. John took no notice of their conduct, 
because, as Peter thinks, he knew of the plot against his 
life, and felt intimidated. He also says that Laperti was 
excited against Mr. John on account-of a suspected in- 
trigue which he carried on with his wife. The night 
following the murder, they all went to bed quietly. The 
next day all was also quiet, and all work suspended, 
except watching the Indians, which they did very closely, 
as they were afraid they might be induced to attack the 
fort, on learning that the master was no more. They 
continued watching turn-a-bout. The second day a coffin 
was made, and the corpse removed from the main house 
to the bath, when McPherson gave the men a dram. 
The third day the corpse was buried and the men Ittid 



OREGON TERRITORY. 405 

another dram. He does not know whether the men 
asked for the dram, or whether McPherson gave it of his 
own accord. The corpse was carried to the grave by 
Laperti, Pripe, Luclaire and some Kanakas, but Urbaine 
did not touch it; does not think it was through fear. 
Peter often heard Laperti say, I wish the Governor was 
here, to see what he would do. He also says there was 
no quarrel in the room where they w^ere drinking, on the 
night of the murder ; but he thinks there might have 
been a quarrel after they left, as Pripe was put in irons 
after that time. He also says that the Canadians must 
have fixed on that night to murder him, and that Fleury 
told him so, which accounts for his apparent dejection of 
mind, and of his having shed tears in presence of his wife 
and Antoine, when he said, '' I know that I am going to 
die this night." He also thinks this might have led to 
the outbreak, but of this he is not sure. It is a mere 
matter of opinion. Mr. John was a little in liquor, but 
knew perfectly well what he was about. He never saw 
him so far gone with liquor as not to be able to walk 
actively about, except on one occasion, the preceding 
Christmas Eve, when he appeared to walk unsteady, but 
nevertheless could mount the gallery. They only knew 
he had tasted liquor from the excitement and changed 
appearance of his countenance. He does not know who 
first suggested the idea of murdering Mr. John. 

Since the above disclosures were made, a few other 
facts have come to light, which, however, do not mate- 
rially effect the character of these atrocities. Mr. John 
McLaughlin, Jr., was doubtless intemperate, reckless, and 
tyrannical, and often unnecessarily cruel in the punish- 
ments inflicted upon his men ; but he was surrounded by 
a set of desperadoes, who, for months before the arrival 
of the night, during the darkness of which, the fatal shot 
ushered him into the presence of his Judge, had been 
seeking an opportunity to rob him of fife. Some time 
before this event, he flogged Peter for the crime of 
stealing fish. Peter was exceedingly angry, and resolved 
upon the destruction of his master. At a time to suit his 
purpose, he went to the bastion, where were fire-arms, 



406 OREGON TERRITORY. 

loaded to his hands, and rung the bell of alarm, with the 
intention of shooting Mr. McLaughlin when he should 
make his appearance. A man by the name of Perse, 
came out to see what was the matter, instead of the 
intended victim, when Peter fired, but missed him, the 
ball hitting a post near his head. For this offence, Peter 
was again seized, put in irons, and subsequently severely 
flogged and liberated. Nearly all the men had been flog- 
ged from time to time, for various offences, and all con- 
spired against the life of their master. As might have 
been expected, when the case was examined by Sir 
George Simpson, the murderers attempted to cast all the 
odium upon Mr. McLaughlin, doubtless for the purpose 
of exculpating themselves,-in which attempt they but too 
well succeeded, in the estimation of Sir George. Whether 
the persons who procured his death, would be pronounced, 
by an intelligent jury, guilty of wilful murder, or whether, 
from the mitigating circumstances connected with these 
transactions, the verdict should assume a more modified 
form, is not for me to determine. But it cannot be denied 
by any one, that the circumstances must be indeed extra- 
ordinary, that will justify any man, or set of men, to cut 
short the probation of an immortal being, and usher him, 
with all his unrepented sins, into the presence of his God. 



CHAPTER XX. 



Oregon territory — History continued — Mr. Asliley's expedition — Smith, Jackson, and 
Sublette — Rocky Mountain Fur Company — Interesting journey — Country explored 
— Independent parties — Boneville — Red Wolf— Captain Wyeih — Opposed by H. 
B. C. — Results — Immigration for settlement — Character of population — Sources 
wlience it proceeds — Enterprise — Portions of country occupied. 

For eight years after the surrender of Astoria to the 
British, and the destruction of the Pacific Fur Company, 
in 1814, a British corporation held undisputed sway 
over the wilds of Oregon. Hordes of English trappers 
scoured its mountain chains upon their fleet horses, and 
ransacked its deepest valleys, while the Americans, 
worsted in the affair of Astoria, confined their operations 
on the east side of the Rocky Mountains. The North 
American Company, of which Mr. Astor was also the 
head, explored the country of the great Lakes, the head- 
waters of the Mississippi, the Missouri, and had estab- 
lished posts high up on the Yellow Stone, when another 
company was organized, in 1822, under the name of the 
Columbia Fur Company, wnth the design of extending its 
operations into those western regions hitherto under the 
monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company. Accordingly, 
in the spring of 1823, Mr. W. H. Ashley, of St. Louis, 
fitted out an expedition for the Oregon country, crossed 
the Rocky Mountain chain, between the sources of the 
Platte and Colorado, near the forty-second parallel, ob- 
tained a large amount of furs, and, in the fall, transported 
them in safety to St. Louis. In the following year he 
returned across the mountains with about one hundred 
men, whom he left in the country to hunt and trap ; 
and, although they were opposed by the Hudson's Bay 



408 OREGON TERRITORY. 

Company in every way, yet the furs collected by them 
m three years, amounted to the sum of one hundred and 
eighty thousand dollars. In these first expeditions of 
Ashley from St. Louis, the goods were all transported 
on the backs of horses ; but in 1827, he sent sixty men 
across the mountains with a piece of cannon drawn by 
mules, which was planted in the vicinity of the great 
Salt Lake, or Lake Yauta, which lies south of the forty- 
second parallel ; and, after collecting the furs, and dis- 
tributing supplies among the hunters, they returned to 
Missouri, having been absent just seven months. 

In 1826, a company was formed in St. Louis by 
Messrs. Smith, Jackson and Sublette, and, having sub- 
sequently purchased Mr. Ashley's establishments and 
interests, they carried on a successful trade with the 
countries of the Columbia, under the name of the Rocky 
Mountain Fur Company. The first expedition with 
wagons to the Rocky Mountains was made by this 
company in 1829, and as an account of it will serve to 
show both the mode and the route usually pursued by the 
emigrants at the present day, I subjoin the following, 
which appeared in connection with President Jackson's 
Message in 1831 ; 

"On the 10th of April last, (1829,) we set out from 
St. Louis with eighty-one men, all mounted on mules, 
ten wagons, each drawn by five mules, and two dear- 
borns, (light carriages or carts,) each drawn by one 
mule. Our route was nearly due west to the western 
hmits of the State of Missouri, and thence along the 
Santa Fe trail, about forty miles from which the course 
was some degrees north of west, across the waters of 
the Kansas, and up the great Platte River to the Rocky 
Mountains, and to the head of Wind River where it 
issues from the mountains. This took us until the 16th 
of July, and was as far as we wished to go with the 
wagons, as the furs to be brought in were to be collected 
at this place, which is, or was this year, the great ren- 
dezvous of the persons engaged in that business. Here 
the wagons could easily have crossed the mountains, it 
being what is called the Southern Pass had it been 



<»REGON TERRITORY. 409 

desirable for them to do so, which it was not for the 
reasons stated. For our support at leaving the Missouri 
settlements, until we should get into the buflalo country, 
we drove twelve head of cattle besides a milch cow. 
Eight of these only being required for use before we got 
to the buffaloes, the others went on to the head of Wind 
River. We began to fall in with buflialoes on the Platte, 
about three hundred and fifty miles from the white set- 
tlements, and from that time lived on buffaloes, the 
quantity being infinitely beyond what we needed. On 
the 4th of August, the wagons being in the mean time 
loaded with the furs which had been previously taken, 
we set out on our return to St. Louis. All the high 
points of the mountains then in view were white with 
snow ; but the passes and valleys, and all the level 
country, were green with grass. Our route back was 
over the same ground nearly as in going out, and we 
arrived at St. Louis on the 10th of October, bringing 
back the ten wagons, four of the oxen, and the milch 
cow, as we did not need them for provisions. Our men 
were all healthy during the w^hole time ; we suflTered 
nothing from the Indians, and had no accident, but the 
death of one man, being buried under a bank of earth 
that fell in upon him, and another crippled at the same 
time. Of the mules we lost but one by fatigue, and two 
horses stolen by the Kansas Indians ; the grass being 
along the whole route, going and coming, suflScient for 
the support of the horses and mules. The usual weight 
in the wagons was about one thousand eight hundred 
pounds. The usual progress of the wagons was from 
fifteen to twenty-five miles per day. The country being 
almost all open, level and prairie, the chief obstructions 
were ravines and creeks, the banks of which required 
cutting down, and for this purpose a few pioneers were 
generally kept in advance of the caravan. This is the 
first time that wagons ever went to the Rocky Moun- 
tains, and the ease and safety with which it was done, 
prove the facility of communicating overland w4th the 
Pacific Ocean. ' The route from the Southern Pass, 
where the wagons stopped, to the Great Falls of the 



410 OREGON TERRITORY. 

Columbia, being easier and better than on this side of 
the mountains, with grass enough for the horses and 
mules ; but a scarcity of game for the support of 
men." 

This company continued its operations for a number 
of years, and its agents explored the whole country 
from St. Louis, by the way of Taos and Santa Fe, to 
the Bay of San Francisco ; thence along the coast of 
the Pacific north to the mouth of the Columbia ; and all 
the vast interior from Fort Vancouver to the country 
of the Blackfeet and Sioux was faithfully examined ; 
but, in consequence of the deadly hostility of the Indian 
tribes, and the direct and unbending opposition of the 
great English monopoly, the company withdrew from 
the territories w^est, and for years has confined its ope- 
rations on the east side of the Rocky Mountains. 

The above named are the principal American compa- 
nies which have extended their operations west of the 
Rocky Mountains, since the famous expedition of Astoria, 
under the direction of Wilson Price Hunt. Several 
independent parties of adventurers, however, have, from 
time to time, turned their backs upon civilization, and, 
some actuated by curiosity, and others by the love of 
gain, have traced the waters of the rivers which flow 
westward, to the Pacific ocean ; and after spending 
years among the Indians, have returned to the world 
information concerning the regions hitherto but little 
known, which they had explored. 

In 1832, Captain Bonneville, of the United States 
Army, led a band across the Rocky Mountains, of more 
than one hundred men, and remained in the country 
drained by the Snake river and its branches for two 
years, employed in the collection of furs. The adven- 
tures of this intrepid officer have been made known by 
Washington Irving, and need not be repeated here. 
Suffice it to say that when the writer visited the coun- 
try of the Snake river, in 1842, an incident of Bonne- 
ville's experience in that country, was related to him by 
Red Wolf, an Indian chief of the Nez Perce tribe. 
Bonneville had met with the most violent opposition 



OREGON TERRITORY. 411 

from the Hudson's Bay Company, in his trade, and in 
attempting to leave a portion of the country where 
every thing, even to the game, appeared to be under 
their control, he and his. party, which, by desertion and 
other causes, had been greatly reduced, lost their way, 
and wandered without food for three days and nights. 
At length, in a state of starvation, they fell in with Red 
Wolf and his party on the Snake or Lewis river, and 
the chief received them kindly, and treated them with 
the best which his means aftbrded, which was the flesh 
of a fat horse, which he killed for that purpose. After 
giving them this timely relief, he prevailed upon them to 
tarry with him a few days, and recruit their exhausted 
strength. They accepted of his kind offer, and were 
astonished at their departure, on being supplied by their 
Indian benefactor with provisions to take with them, and 
a guide to conduct them on to their proper route. 

About the same time that Bonneville was making his 
transit across the Rocky Mountains, Mr. Nathaniel 
Wyeth, of Massachusetts, was endeavoring to establish 
a direct trade between the United States and the Co- 
lumbia river. In addition to the fur-trade, Wyeth had 
in view the establishment of a salmon-fishery in Oregon, 
from which he hoped to receive considerable profits. 
With these views he dispatched a vessel around Cape 
Horn, to the Columbia, and led two expeditions across 
the continent, the first in 1832, and the second in 1834. 
To facilitate his operations. Captain Wyeth formed two 
trading stations, one in the south-east corner of Oregon, 
near the junction of the river Poi'tneuf with the Snake 
or Lewis river, called Fort Hall, and the other on Wap- 
pato Island, near the entrance of the Wallamette into 
the Columbia, and about seventy miles from the Pacific 
ocean, called Fort William. These forts were advan- 
tageously situated for trade, but in consequence of the 
numerous disasters which happened to the company, but 
principally on account of the unrelenting hostility of the 
Hudson's Bay Company to all American enterprise in 
Oregon, Wyeth was obliged to relinquish his expedition, 
and Fort Hall and Fort William fell into the hands of 



I^PZ OREGON TERRITORY. 

that monopoly. Scores of lives were lost in Wyeth's 
expedition ; several men were drowned, but more killed 
by the Indians. Wyeth continued his effort to establish 
the trade for three years, and it is said that, at the close 
of that time, of two hundred men whom he had led into 
Oregon, but forty were known to be ahve, all the rest 
having fallen victims to the dangers incident to the fur- 
trade. 

This enterprise, though failing in its primary objects, 
was of great service, not only to the United States in 
furnishing important information respecting the territo- 
ries of the Columbia, but also to Oregon itself in intro- 
ducing the first American settlers, in assisting the lirst 
American missionaries across the Rocky Mountains, and 
in opening the way for future emigrations to the fertile 
plains of that distant country. 

Though a number of persons, Americans and Canadian 
French, who accompanied the first exploring and com- 
mercial expeditions across the mountains, had previously 
taken up their residence in Oregon, yet the first emigra- 
tions for the purpose of settlement, were made in 1832. 
To a proper understanding of the character of the present 
population of Oregon, it will be necessary to consider the 
sources whence it has sprung. 

Probably a more heterogeneous mass of human kind 
cannot be found in any land, than have sought an asylum 
in the wilds of Oregon. Here are found the Indian, who 
is the legitimate proprietor of the soil, Englishmen, 
Scotchmen, Irishmen, Americans, Germans, Prussians, 
Italians, Spanish, Frenchmen, Danes, Canadians, Ha- 
waiians, Otehietans, and Africans. From continual inter- 
marriages with one another, and particularly with the 
natives of the country ever since white men first visited 
these shores, an amalgamated population has been pro- 
duced, presenting every variety of color, disposition, and 
character of which the human species is capable. The 
English, Scotch, French, and some others, have princi- 
pally been introduced into the country through the in- 
strumentality of the Hudson's Bay Company. Many of 
these still belong to the company, and occupy various 



OREGON TERRITORY. 413 

fitations, from those of servants and clerks up through 
the various grades of office to the chief factors and su- 
perintendents. Others, who were formerly the servants 
of the company, becoming in some cases superannuated, 
in others unprofitable, have been dismissed ; and the 
company chose rather to settle them in the country and 
continue to exercise a controling influence over them, 
than to return them to the lands whence they came. 
The numbers which have sprung from this source, and 
are now residents of the wilderness, amount to nearly 
two thousand souls. 

Many persons have found their way to Oregon from 
the numerous vessels which have touched at various 
points along its extended coast. Scarcely a ship has 
visited the Columbia for years, from which two or more 
have not made their escape, and, secreting themselves 
until the vessel has left, they have come forth to mingle 
with the inhabitants as citizens of Oregon. Some have 
deserted their ships on the coast of California, and have 
fought their way to the valley of the Multnomah, through 
the hostile tribes that roam among the Clameth and Ump- 
qua mountains. Some of these adventurous seamen are 
among the most industrious, temperate, and wholesome 
settlers of Oregon. 

The Islands of the Pacific open another source for the 
supply of inhabitants to Oregon. Hundreds of Hawaiians 
have been taken from the Sandwich Islands by the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, and by private individuals, to act 
as house servants and day-laborers, for which they have 
been found nmch better adapted than the natives of the 
country. Though the persons employing them are 
obliged to enter into stipulations with the Haw^aiian 
government to return them at the expiration of their 
term of service ; yet, from the numerous casualties inci- 
dent to their new' relations, and, those who survive, be- 
coming warmly attached to the country of their adoption, 
in connection with the superior facilities which Oregon 
presents to the Hawaiian, when compared with those of 
his native land, but few of them ever return to their 
sea-girt home. 



414 OREGON TERRITORY. 

Another somewhat fruitful source for the supply of 
inhabitants to the fertile valleys of Oregon, has been 
found, singular as it may appear, in that vast range, 
called " The Rocky Mountains." I do not now refer to 
emigrants direct from the United States, who are obliged 
to pass through the gates of that stupendous range on 
their way to that ^^ better country" which they seek, 
but to those white men, who, in connection with the 
American companies established for purposes of traffick 
wath the Blackfeet, Sioux, and other Indians, have been 
collecting for the last forty years among the snow-clad 
mountains w^hich send their waters both to the Atlantic 
and Pacific Oceans. There are men still living in the 
Wallamette valley, w^ho accompanied Lewis and Clark 
in their exploring expedition in 1805 and 1806 ; and I 
have often seen persons w^ho were the companions and 
fellow-travelers of Wilson Price Hunt, one of the part- 
ners of John Jacob Astor, in his trading establishment at 
the mouth of the Columbia, and who shared with that 
intrepid traveler in all the perils of one of the most re- 
markable expeditions of the kind ever carried to a suc- 
cessful issue, and has been inimitably described in Wash- 
ington Irving's popular ^^ Astoria." Madame Doric, the 
heroine of that interesting narrative, and her son, who 
was born under peculiar circumstances during one of 
their encampments on their journey across the mountains, 
are both still alive, and inhabitants of the Wallamette 
valley. 

There are many others, most of whom are Americans, 
who, after having spent many years in ranging the Rocky 
Mountains, experiencing the most surprising adventures 
among the Indians, and enduring every variety of hard- 
ships which human nature is capable of suffering, have 
at last found a peaceful and quiet retreat, where they 
are secure from the savage violence of the Blackfoot, 
and from the treachery of the Sioux, and where most 
of them will close their earthly career. With the most 
thrilling interest I have heard them relate their mountain 
adventures and 'Miair breadth-escapes." The history 
of some of them will doubtless form the subject of many 



OREGON TERRITORY. 415 

a future legend replete with interest. It is very re- 
markable Avith respect to this class of inhabitants, 'that, 
while they doomed themselves to a precarious subsist- 
ence among the hostile clans of the naountains, they con- 
tracted the most roving, barbarous and depraved habits ; 
yet, on settling down amidst the increasingly interesting 
society of Oregon, most of them become steady, peace- 
ful and industrious citizens. While ranging the moun- 
tains they usually connected with their's, the fortunes 
of an Indian woman, and many of them, in process of 
time, became surrounded with large families of half-caste 
children. They had a natural love for their offspring, 
and they could but form an attachment for the mothers 
of their sons and daughters ; consequently, on leaving 
the scene of their savage life, they took with them their 
wives and children, anxious that both might be benefited 
by mingling wdth civilized society. At the present time 
some of these reclaimed mountaineers are among the 
principal persons to whom the public interests of the 
colony are intrusted. This shows with what facility 
they can throw off their mountaineer habits, and assume 
those of civilized Hfe. 

At present the most fruitful source of supply for settlers 
in Oregon, is the United States of America. Emigrations 
have arrived in the country, direct from Missouri, every 
fall, since 1839. In 1840 and 1841, the parties were 
comparatively small, but in 1842 the emigration num- 
bered one hundred and eleven persons in all. In 1843, it 
increased to eight hundred persons, who emigrated princi- 
pally in ox-wagons, and drove before them fifteen hundred 
head of neat cattle. In 1844, the number was about the 
same as the preceding year. In 1845, it increased to 
nearly three thousand souls, with some two or three 
thousand head of cattle. 

These emigrations, for the most part, are composed 
of persons from the Western States, but in them might be 
found persons from almost every State in the Union, 
even the most Eastern. Maine herself has supplied 
several 

Many of these adventurers are of that class of persons 



416 OREGO-X TERKITOIiY. 

who have always hovered on the frontiers of civiUzation, 
and have been pushing on in search of a " better country, 
not an heavenly," until they have passed the utmost 
borders of civilized society. Penetrating entirely through 
the deep recesses of savage Hfe, they have finally emerged 
from the deep defiles of the Cascade Mountains, into the 
lovely valleys of Oregon, where they have found, at least 
in embryo, the blessings of Christianity and civilization ; 
and here most of them, some from choice, and others 
from the impossibility of getting away, come to the con- 
clusion to erect their tabernacles for life. The enterprise 
of these parties has far out-stripped the most sanguine 
expectations of the English writer in a London paper, 
who, a few years ago, remarked, that, "Even the perse- 
vering Yankees would not think of emigrating to Oregon 
in their ox-wagons." If this writer had possessed the eye 
of omniscience, he would have seen, at the very time he 
was penning it, a score of Yankee wagons, drawn by 
sixty yoke of oxen, w^inding their way through the deep 
passes of the Rocky Mountains, bound for the Oregon. 

The population of Oregon in 184(3, embracing the 
members of the Hudson's Bay Company, would not vary 
far from twelve thousand. These are settled principally 
in the Wallamette valley on the south, and the Cowilitz 
valley on the north side of the Columbia, on the Clatsop 
plains, and at the various posts of the Hudson's Bay 
Company. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Oregon territory — Political history — Necessity of organizing a body politic — Pirrt 
meeting of the people — Second meeting — Exigencies met— Organization dies — 
Exploring squadron — Great excitement — Commander Wilkes — Opposed to or- 
ganizing—Subject slumbers — Snb-agent — Mass meeting — Old subject revived 

— Indians troublesome — Talk of war — Dr. McLaughlin — Third meeting — 
Government organized — Fourth meeting — Officers qualified— Laws enaeted — 
Effect produced — New legislative committee — Laws revised — Alterations — Elec* 
tion of a Governor and House of Representatives — Peaceable state of community 

— Joel Turnham — Thrilling incident. 

The subject of this Chapter is not the political relation 
of Oregon to any other country ; whether from the 
Spanish purchase, the right of first discovery, or conti- 
guity of situation, it properly belongs to the United 
States ; or whether, from long and uninterrupted posses- 
sion by British subjects, as the servants of a British 
monopoly, or from the conveniency of a continued pos- 
session of the majestic Columbia as a port of entry to 
North Western British America, it more properly belongs 
to England ; but, simply, the internal politics of Oregon. 

Strange as it may appear, the people of Oregon have 
their pohtics, altogether aside from their relation with 
other countries, and these have sprung up among them, 
more from the necessity of the case, than from any other 
cause. Up to 1840, the number of people in the colony 
was so small, the business transactions so limited, and the 
difficulties so few, that the necessity of organizino- the 
community into a body politic, did not appear to be very 
great, though for two years persons had been chosen to 
officiate as judges and magistrates. But a circumstance 
transpired in the winter of 1841, different in its character 
and bearings upon community from any thing that had 
previously happened, namely, the death of one of the 
'18 



418 OREGON TERRITORY^ 

principal men in the colony, by the name of Ewing 
Young, who left a large and very unsettled estate, with- 
out having made the least provision for its administration. 
On the very day of the burial of this man, who had not 
a single relative to follow him to the tomb, measures 
were taken to call a public meeting for the purpose of 
appointing officers for the government of the community, 
and particularly to provide for the proper disposition of 
the estate of Ewing Young. A committee of arrange- 
ments, chosen at his funeral, called a mass meeting of 
the inhabitants of Oregon, south of the Columbia river, 
on the 17th and 18th of February, 1841, to be held at 
the Methodist Mission premises in the Wallamette val- 
ley. Pursuant to the call, the people collected and held, 
what was properly called, " The Primary Meeting of 
the people of Oregon." 

The meeting on the 18th was full — nearly every male 
inhabitant south of the Columbia, of full age, being 
present. 

Rev. Jason Lee was excused from officiating as Chair- 
man, and Rev. David Leslie was elected to fill his place. 
G. Hines and Sidney Smith were chosen Secretaries. 

The doings of the meeting the previous day were 
presented to the assembly, and adopted, in part, as 
follows : — 

Resolved, That a committee be chosen to form a con- 
stitution, and draft a code of laws, and that the following 
persons compose that committee : 

Rev. F. N. Blanchat, Rev. Jason Lee, David Don 
Pierre, Rev. Gustavus Hines, M. Chanlevo, Robert 
More, J. L. Parrish, Etienne Lucia, and Wm. Johnson. 

As it was not deemed necessary to elect a Governor 
that office was set aside. 

Dr. J. L. Babcock was elected to fill the office of 
Supreme Judge, with Probate powers. 

George W. Le Breton was elected to fill the office of 
Clerk of the Courts and Public Recorder. 

Wm. Johnson was elected High Sheriff. Zavier 
Ladaroot, Pierre Billique and Wm. MoCarty were 
chofgen Constables. 



OREGON TERRITORY. 419 

It was then resolved, that, until a code of laws be 
drafted by the Legislative Committee, and adopted by 
the people, Ira L. Babcock, the Supreme Judge, be 
instructed to act according to the laws of the State of 
New York. 

It was then resolved to adjourn to meet the first 
Thursday in June, at the new building near the Roman 
Catholic church. 

Thursday, June 11, 1841. 

The inhabitants of the Wallamette valley met accord- 
ing to adjournment, and the meeting was called to order 
by the Chairman, Rev. D. Leslie. 

On motion, the doings of the former meeting were 
read, on which the report of the committee for drafting 
a constitution and code of laws was called for, and 
information was communicated to the meeting by the 
chairman of the committee, that, in consequence of his 
not having called the committee together, no report had 
been prepared. 

F. N. Blanchat was excused from serving on that 
committee at his own request. 

On motion, it was then resolved, that a person be 
chosen to fill the place thus vacated in the committee 
for drafting a constitution and code of laws, and Wm. 
J. Baily was chosen that committee man. 

On motion, it was resolved, that this committee be 
instructed to meet for the transaction of their business 
on the first Monday of August next. 

On motion, resolved, that the committee be instructed 
to report to an adjourned meeting, to be held the first 
Thursday in October next. 

On motion, resolved, that the committee be advised to 
confer with the commander of the American Exploring 
Squadron now in the Columbia river, concerning the 
propriety of forming a provisional government in Oregon. 

Resolved, That the motion to adopt the report of the 
nominating committee presented at a previous meeting, 
be rescinded. 

Resolved, That the committee to draft a constitution 
be instructed to take into consideration the number and 



420 OREGON TERRITORY, 

kind of offices it will be necessary to create, in accord- 
ance with their constitution and code of laws, and to 
report the same at the next meeting. 

It was also resolved, that the report of the nominating 
committee be referred to the legislative committee. 

It was then moved and carried, that this meeting 
adjourn to meet at the Methodist Mission at eleven 
o'clock, A. M., of the first Thursday in October next. 
(Signed,) DAVID LESLIE, Chairman. 

GUSTAVUS HiNES, ) ^,,^,^^^^,,, 

Sidney I^mith, ) 

I have previously stated that the origin of these 
attempts to form a kind of provisional government, was 
the removal by death of the late Ewing Young, leaving, 
as he did, a large and unsettled estate, with no one to 
administer it, and no laws to control its administration. 
The exigencies of this case having been met by the 
appointment of a Judge with probate powers, who en- 
tered immediately upon his duties, and disposed of the 
estate of Ewing Young, to the entire satisfaction of the 
community ; and the fact that some of the most influ- 
ential citizens of the country, and especially some of the 
members of the legislative committee, were adverse to 
the idea of establishing a permanent organization so 
long as the peace and harmony of the community could 
possibly be preserved without it, the subject was permit- 
ted to die away, and the committee for drafting a con- 
stitution and code of laws did not meet according to 
their instructions, nor did the meeting at which they 
were expected to report, ever take place. 

What contributed more, however, to defeat this first 
effort to estabhsh a regular government in Oregon than 
any thing else, was the arrival, during the summer in 
which the organization was pending, of the United 
States Exploring Squadron, under the command of 
Captain Wilkes. The results of the observations of the 
officers and scientific corps connected with the squadron, 
in the Oregon Territory, as well as a description of the 
diflferent casualties which happened to them in the loss 
of the Peacock on the bar of the Columbia, and in their 



OREGON TERRITORY. 42J 

different conflicts with the natives of the interior, are 
already before the public in the voluminous works of 
Captain Wilkes, and therefore it is not necessary to 
introduce them here. The arrival on the coast of Ore- 
gon ot so extensive an armament, consisting of four or 
tive vessels of war, for the express purpose of explorini^ 
not only the coast and rivers, but also the country itself 
produced a very great excitement in the community 
and but httle was heard of but the Exploring Squadron 
during Its somewhat protracted stay in the Columbia 
river. In addition to this, the officers of the squadron 
were consulted on the subject of organizing the country 
into a civil compact, and were found to be decidedly 
opposed to the scheme, and recommended that the sub- 
ject be allowed to rest. They encouraged the people in 
the behef that the United States Government would 
probably soon extend jurisdiction over the country. 

This put a quietus on the subject for the time bein? 
and as the number of settlers in the country was yet 
small, and the difficulties to be settled of such a nature 
as easily to be adjusted by arbitration, nothing took 
place to call up the subject of organizing until several 
months after the departure of the squadron from the 
Columbia river. 

The subject of organizing a government was again 
revived in September, 1842 ; but Dr. White, who was 
now in the country as Sub-agent of Indian Affairs, con- 
tended that his office was equivalent to that of Governor 
ot the Colony. Some of the citizens contended that the 
Doctors business was to regulate the intercourse be- 
tween the Indians and the whites, and not to control the 
whites in their intercourse among themselves. Without 
arriving at any thing definite on this point, after hearing 
the documents brought to the country from Washington 
by Dr White, the people scattered away to their homes 
upon the plains, pleased with what they considered to be 
a prehmmary step of the United States towards extending 
jurisdiction over the Territory of Oregon. 

About this time the Indians became quite troublesome 
m various parts of the country. At Waialetpee, on the 



422 OREGON TERRITORY. 

Walla-Walla river, where a mission station had been 
established by Dr. Marcus Whitman, they took advantage 
of the Doctor's absence and broke into the house, in the 
dead of the night, and even into the bed-chamber of Mrs. 
Whitman, who, with much difficulty, escaped out of their 
hands. At Laperai, on Clear Water river, where the 
Rev. Mr. Spaulding was conducting a mission station, 
they committed some outrages ; also, at the Falls of the 
Wallamette river. A number of individuals of Dr. 
White's party, w4io had separated themselves from the 
main company, were robbed of their effects while passing 
down the Columbia river. 

The Nez-Perces and Kayuses, two of the most power- 
ful tribes in the country, had talked much of making 
war upon the American settlement on the Wallamette 
river. These things, w^ith many others of more or less 
importance, produced a high degree of excitement, and 
served to arouse the people again to the subject of enter- 
ing into some measures by which their mutual protection 
might be secured. The Canadian Fjench, who had set- 
tled in the country, and who, up to the beginning of 
1843, were more numerous than the Americans, were, 
at first, agreed with them as to the necessity of organ- 
izing ; but, at this time, as it was supposed through the 
influence of Dr. John McLaughlin, who, himself was 
opposed to such a measure, they broke off, almost to a 
man, on the pretence, that, as they were the subjects of 
Queen Victoria, and did not wish to forswear their 
country, they could not, consistently, enter into any 
measures that might prove prejudicial to her Majesty's 
government. This served to harmonize the views of the 
Americans, so far as to bring them unanimously to the 
determination immediately to organize ; but they still 
differed as to the nature of the government that should 
be established. Some were favorable to an independent 
form, some to a form similar to a territorial government, 
while others were in favor of a few simple rules and 
regulations, which might operate satisfactorily for the 
time being, until the United States government should do 
something more effectual in their behalf. With these 



X 



OREGON TERRITORY. 423 

conflicting views a meeting of about fifty of the settlers, 
chiefly Americans, took place at the Wallamette Falls 
in the month of March, 1843, and the subject of organ- 
izing the community into a body politic, became the 
order of the evening. After a spirited and interesting 
discussion, the meeting resulted in the appointment of a 
committee to notify a public meeting to be held at 
Champoeg, the 2d day of May, 1843. In the mean 
time, there being no law in Oregon, every man was left 
to do what was pleasing in his own eyes. At length the 
2d day of May arrived, and the people assembled ac- 
cording to notice, the French as well as the Amei'icans, 
the former, doubtless, for the purpose of thwarting the 
designs of the latter, and these with the determination of 
carrying their purposes into execution. The following is 
an account of the meeting as taken from the public records. 

A public meeting of the inhabitants of the Wallamette 
settlement was held at Champoeg, on the 2d day of 
May, 1843, in accordance with the call of a committee, 
chosen at a previous meeting, for the purpose of taking 
steps to organize themselves into a civic community, and 
provide themselves with the protection secured by the 
enforcement of law and order. 

Dr. J. L. Babcock was chosen Chairman, and W. H. 
Gray, G. W. Le Breton and W. H. Wilson were chosen 
Secretaries. 

The committee appointed for the purpose of bringing 
forward the business of the meeting, presented their 
report, and a motion was made to accept it, which was 
lost. Considerable confusion existed in consequence ; 
but it was moved by G. W. Le Breton, and seconded by 
W. H. Gray, that the meeting divide themselves prepara- 
tory to being counted ; those in favor of the objects of the 
meeting taking the right, and those of the contrary mind, 
the left. The motion prevailed, and a large majority 
being found in favor of organizing, the greater part of the 
dissenting withdrew. 

The report of the committee was again presented and 
accepted. It was then taken up, item by item, and dis- 
posed of as follows : — 



424 OREGON TERRITORY. 

First item, that a Judge, with Probate powers, be 
chosen to officiate in this community. Adopted. 

It was also resolved, that the second, third, fourth and 
fifth items, providing for the election of a Clerk, Sheriff, 
three Magistrates, and three Constables, be adopted. 

The sixth item, recommending the election of a com- 
mittee of nine persons for the purpose of drafting a 
code of laws for the government of the community, and 
to report to a pubHc meeting to be hereafter called by 
said committee, and to be held at Champoeg, on the 5th 
day of July, 1843, was also adopted. 

The seventh and eighth were adopted,, which recom- 
mended the election of a Treasurer, a Major and three 
Captains. 

It was then resolved, that the meeting proceed to 
choose persons to fill the various offices by ballot. 

A. E. Wilson was chosen to act as Judge, with Probate 
powers. 

G. W. Le Breton was chosen Clerk of the Court, and 
Recorder. 

Joseph L. Meek was chosen to fill the office of 
Sheriff. 

W. H. Wilson was chosen Treasurer. 

Messrs. Hill, Shortess, Newel, Beers, Hubbard, Gray, 
O'Neal, More and Dougherty were chosen to act as 
the Legislative Committee. 

Messrs. Burns, Judson and A. T. Smith were chosen 
to act as Magistrates. 

Messrs. Ebberts, Bridges and Lewis were chosen to 
act as Constables. 

John Howard was chosen Major. 

Messrs. McCarty, McKay and S. Smith w^ere consti- 
tuted Captains. 

It was then resolved, that the Legislative Committee 
be required to make their report on the 5th day of July, 
1843, at Champoeg. 

On motion, it was resolved, that the services of the 
Committee be paid for at the rate of one dollar and 
twenty-five cents per day, and that the money be raised 
by subscription. 



OREGON TERRITORY. 425 

A motion was made and carried, that the Major and 
Captains be instructed to enlist men, to form companies 
of mounted riflemen. 

A fourth Magistrate and a fourth Constable were also 
elected, and it was then resolved, that the Legislative 
Committee should not be allowed to sit over six days. 

In addition to the above business, this important pri- 
mary meeting recognized the officers who had been 
elected immediately after the death of Ewing Young, 
and passed a vote that they should have power to exer- 
cise the functions of their office until the day of the 
pubUc meeting should arrive, when the newly elected 
officers should be duly initiated. 

During the interim between the above described 
meeting and the 5th of July, little transpired worthy of 
note, with the exception of the celebration of the Fourth. 
This day, glorious in the recollection of every American, 
wherever he may be found, as the birth-day of liberty, 
was appropriately celebrated at Champoeg, where nearly 
all the Americans in the country, and many of the French 
and English assembled to listen to an oration, and a 
temperance address, and to enjoy the socialities of a 
public dinner. The festivities of the day were enjoyed 
m the true spirit of liberty, there being no other spirit 
to exert an influence on the occasion. As there were 
no houses to entertain the people during the night, they 
nearly all camped upon the ground, and the morning of 
the 5th found them prepared to enter upon the important 
business that was to come before them, and which re- 
sulted in giving to the Oregonians a tangible form of 
government. 

The minutes of the meeting are as follows : — 

Champoeg, July 5th, 1843. 

The inhabitants of Oregon met at Champoeg, pursuant 
to adjournment, to hear the report of the Legislative 
Committee, and to perform such other business as might 
come before them. 

Rev. Gustavus Hines was elected Chairman, and W. 
H. Gray, W. H. Wilson and H. Campbell were chosen 
Secretaries. 



426 OREGON TERRITORY. 

Robert More, Esq., Chairman of the Legislative Com- 
mittee, then presented his report, which was read by 
the Clerk of the Court, and adopted, as follows : — 

Section 1st. — We, the people of Oregon Territory, for 
purposes of mutual protection, and to secure peace and 

f)rosperity among ourselves, agree to adopt the following 
aws and regulations until such time as the United States 
of America extend their jurisdiction over us. 

Be it therefore enacted by the citizens of Oregon 
Territory, that the said Territory, for the purposes of 
temporary government, be divided into not less than 
three, nor more than five Districts, subject to be extended 
to a greater number when the increase of population 
shall require. 

For the purpose of fixing the principles of civil and 
religious Hberty as the feasis of all law^s and constitutions 
of government that may hereafter be adopted. Be it 
enacted, that the following articles be considered ar- 
ticles of compact among the free citizens of this Ter- 
ritory : 

Jlrticle \st. No person demeaning himself in an orderly 
and peaceful manner, shall ever be molested on account 
of his mode of worship, or religious sentiments. 

Article 2d The inhabitants of said Territory shall 
always be entitled to the benefit of the writ of habeas 
corpus, and trial by jury, of a proportionate representa- 
tion of the people in the legislature and judicial proceed- 
ings, according to the course of common law ; all per- 
sons shall be bailable, unless for capital offences, where 
the proof shall be evident, or the presumption great. 
All fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual pun- 
ishments inflicted. No man shall be deprived of his liberty 
but by the judgment of his peers, or the laws of the land ; 
and should the public exigencies make it necessary for 
the common preservation to take any person's property, 
or to demand his particular services, full compensation 
shall be made for the same. And, in the just preservation 
of rights and property, it is understood and declared, that 
no law ought to be made or have force in said Territory 
that shall, in any manner whatever, interfere with, or 



OREGON TERRITORY. 427 

effect, private contracts or engagements, bona fide and 
without fraud, privately framed. 

Article Sd. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being 
necessary to good government and the happiness of man- 
kind, schools and the means of education shall forever 
be encouraged. 

The utmost good faith shall always be preserved to- 
wards the Indians ; their land and property shall never 
be taken from them without their consent ; and in their 
property, rights and liberty, they shall never be invaded 
or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized 
by the representatives of the people. But laws founded 
in justice and humanity, shall from time to time be made 
for preventing injustice being done to them, and for pre- 
serving peace and friendship with them. 

Article 4th. There shall be neither slavery nor involun- 
tary servitude in said Territory, otherwise than for the 
punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been 
duly convicted. 

Section 2d. — Organic Law. 

Article 1st. Be it enacted by the authorities aforesaid, 
that the officers elected upon the 2d day of May, 1843, 
shall continue in office until the second Tuesday in May, 
1844, and until others are elected and qualified. 

Article 2d. Be it further enacted, that an election of 
civil and military officers shall be held annually upon the 
second Tuesday in May, in the several districts, in such 
places as shall be designated by law. 

Article Sd. Each officer heretofore elected, or that shall 
hereafter be elected, shall, before entering upon the duties 
of his office, take an oath, or affirmation, to support the 
laws of the Territory, and faithfully to discharge the 
duties of his office. 

Article 4th. Every free male descendant of a white 
man, inhabitant of this Territory, of the age of twenty- 
one years and upwards, who shall have been an inhabi- 
tant of this Territory at the time of its organization, shall 
be entitled to vote at the election of officers, civil and 
military, and be eligible to any office in the Territory, 



428 OREGON TERRITORY. 

Provided, that all persons of the description entitled to 
vote by the provisions of this section, who shall emigrate 
to this Territory after organization, shall be entitled to 
the rights of citizens, after having resided six naonths in 
the Territory. 

Article bth. The executive power shall be vested in a 
committee of three persons elected by the qualified voters 
at the annual election, who shall have power to grani 
pardons and reprieves for offences against the laws of 
the Territory ; to call out the military force of the Ter- 
ritory, to repel invasions or suppress insurrection ; to take 
care that the laws be faithfully executed, and to recom- 
mend such laws, as they may consider necessary, to the 
representatives of the people for their action. Two mem- 
bers of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the 
transaction of business. 

Article 6th. The legislative power shall be vested in a 
committee of nine persons, to be chosen by the qualified 
voters at the annual elections, giving to each district a 
representation in the ratio of its population, excluding 
Indians, and the said members of the committee shall 
reside in the district for which they shall be chosen. 

Article 7th. The judicial power shall be vested in a 
Supreme Court, consisting of the Supreme Judge and two 
Justices of the Peace, a Probate Court, and in Justices 
of the Peace. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court 
shall be both appellate and original. That of the Probate 
Court and Justices of the Peace, as Hmited by law ; pro- 
vided, that individual Justices of the Peace shall not have 
jurisdiction of any matter of controversy when the title 
or boundaries of land may be in dispute, or when the sum 
claimed shall exceed fifty dollars. 

Article 8th. There shall be a Recorder elected by the 
qualified electors at the annual election, who shall keep 
a faithful record of the proceedings in the Legislative 
Committee, Supreme and Probate Courts ; also, record 
all boundaries of land presented for that purpose, and all 
marks and brands used for marking live stock ; procure 
and keep the standard weights and measures required 
by law ; seal weights and measures, and keep a record of 



OREGON TERRITORY. 429 

the same ; and also record wills, deeds and other instru- 
ments of writing, required by law to be recorded. The 
Recorder shall receive the following fees, viz : for re- 
cording wills, deeds, and other instruments of writing, 
twelve cents for every hundred words, and the same 
price for copies of the same ; for every weight and 
measure sealed, twenty-five cents ; for services as Clerk 
of the Legislature, and for all other services required of 
him by this act, the same fees as are allowed for similar 
services by the laws of Iowa. 

Article 9th. There shall be a Treasurer elected by the 
qualified electors of the Territory, who shall, before en- 
tering upon the duties of his office, give bonds to the 
Executive Committee in the sum of fifteen hundred dol- 
lars, with two or more sufficient securities, to be approved 
by the Executive Committee of the Territory, conditioned 
for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. The 
Treasurer shall receive all moneys belonging to the Ter- 
ritory that may be raised by contribution or otherwise, 
and shall procure suitable books in which he shall enter 
an account of his receipts and disbursements. 

Article lOth. The Treasurer shall in no case pay 
money out of the Treasury, but according to law ; and 
shall annually report to the Legislative Committee a 
true account of his receipts and disbursements, with 
necessary vouchers for the same, and shall deUver to his 
successor in office all books, moneys, accounts, or other 
property belonging to the Territory, as soon as his suc- 
cessor shall become qualified. 

Article 11th. The Treasurer shall receive for his ser- 
vices the sum of five per cent, upon all moneys received 
and paid out, according to law, and three per cent, upon 
all money in the Treasury when he goes out of office, 
and two per cent, upon the disbursements of money in 
the Treasury when he comes into office. 

Article 12th. The laws of Iowa shall be the laws of 
this country, in civil, military and criminal cases, when 
not otherwise provided for; and where no statute of Iowa 
Territory applies, the principles of common law and 
equity shall govern. 



430 OREGON TERRITORY. 

Article ISth. The law of Iowa, regulating weights 
and measures, shall be the law of this Territory ; Pro- 
vided, that the Supreme Court shall perform the duties 
required of the County Commissioners, and the Recorder 
shall perfom the duties of the Clerk of the County Com- 
missioners, as provided in said laws of Iowa. And, 
provided, that sixty pounds avoirdupois weight, shall be 
the standard weight of a bushel of wheat, whether the 
same be more or less than two thousand one hundred 
and fifty and two-fifths cubic inches. 

Article I4th. The laws of Iowa respecting wills and 
administrations, shall be the laws of this Territory, in all 
cases not otherwise provided for. 

Article \bth. The laws of Iowa respecting vagrants, 
are hereby adopted as far as adapted to the circumstan- 
ces of the citizens of Oregon. 

Article IGth. The Supreme Court shall hold two ses- 
sions annually, upon the third Tuesday in April and 
September, the first session to be held at Champoeg, on 
the third Tuesday in September, 1843, and the second 
session at Tuality Plains, on the third Tuesday in April. 
At the sessions of the Supreme Court, the Supreme 
Judge shall preside, assisted by the Justices ; Provided, 
that no Justice of the Peace shall assist in trying any 
case that has been brought before the Court by appeal 
from his judgment. The Supreme Court shall have 
original jurisdiction in cases of treason, felony, and 
breach of the peace, and in civil cases when the sum 
claimed exceeds fifty dollars. 

Article 17 th. All male persons of the age of sixteen 
years and upwards, and all females of the age of four- 
teen and upwards, shall have the I'ight of engaging in 
marriage ; Provided, that, when either of the parties 
shall be under twenty-one years of age, the consent of 
the parents or guardians of such minors shall be neces- 
sary to the validity of such matrimonial engagement. 
Every ordained minister of the gospel of any religious 
denomination, the Supreme Judge, and all the Justices 
of the Peace, are hereby authorized to solemnize mar- 
riage according to law, to have the same recorded, and 



OREGON TERRITORY. 431 

pay the Recorder's fees. All marriages shall be re- 
corded by the Territorial Recorder within one month 
from the time of such marriage taking place, and being 
made known to him officially. The legal fee for mar- 
riage shall be one dollar, and for recording fifty cents. 

Jlrticle I8th. All offices subsequently made shall be 
filled by election and ballot in the several districts, in 
the most central and convenient place in such district, 
upon the day appointed by law, and under such regula- 
tions as the laws of Iowa provide. 

Article \9th. Resolved, that a Committee of three be 
appointed to draw up a digest of the doings of the people 
of this Territory, with regard to an organization, and 
transmit it to the United States Government for their 
information. 

In every other particular connected with the Judiciary 
and Military regulations of the country, the laws of 
Iowa were considered applicable, and were consequently 
formally adopted by the people assembled en masse at 
Champoeg, on the 5th of July, 1843. 

As the country remained quiet as it regarded the 
Indians, and no particular danger menaced her from 
without, the military laws slumbered a dead letter, and 
the military officers remained without a miUtia. The 
organization, however, continued, and all the rest of the 
laws were uniformly put in force. The expenses of the 
government for two years after the organization, were 
met by voluntary contributions ; some of the officers, 
however, serving without fee or reward. 

In the spring of 1844, a new Legislative Committee 
was elected, which embraced two or three lawyers, who 
arrived in the country the previous fall. This Committee 
passed a vote, recommending several important altera- 
tions in the Organic Laws, which were found to be, in 
their practical operations, somewhat defective. As the 
people had not yet surrendered their law-making power 
into the hands of the Legislative Committee, it was 
necessary to call an election, to ascertain the will of the 
people in reference to the proposed alterations and 
amendments. This election took place, and resulted in 



432 OREGON TERRITORY. 

the adoption of the Organic Laws, with the proposes 
alterations and admendments, by an overwhelming ma- 
jority. The principal alterations thus effected relate to 
the three powers of Government, the Legislative, Exec- 
utive, and Judicial. Instead of a Committee of nine, 
whose acts were to be confirmed or rejected by a subse- 
quent vote of the people, the Legislative power was 
vested in a House of Representatives, to consist of not 
less than thirteen, nor more than sixty-one members, 
possessing all the powers usual to such bodies. 

Instead of a Committee of three, the Executive power 
was vested in one person, to be elected by the quahfied 
voters at the annual election, and possessing the powers 
common to the Governors of the different States. 

The Judicial power was vested in a Supreme Court, 
and such Inferior Courts of law, equity and arbitration, 
as should, by law, from time to time, be estabhshed. 
It was also provided, that the Supreme Judge should 
be elected by the House of Representatives, and not by 
the people, according to the provisions of the former 
Code. 

All the officers, civil and mihtary, were required to 
take an oath as follows, to wit : — 

I do solemnly swear, that I will support the Organic 
Laws of the Provisional Government of Oregon, so far 
as said Organic Laws are consistent with my duties as 
a citizen of the United States, or a subject of Great 
Britain, and faithfully demean myself in office ; so help 
me God. 

Important changes were also effected in the Organic 
Laws, respecting land claims. By the previous arrange- 
ment, the different missions in the country were con- 
firmed in their occupancy of the tracts of land of which 
they had taken possession, for the benefit of the Indian 
tribes, but in the amended Code, no such mission claims 
were allowed. 

As the Land Law is quite important, particularly to 
persons interested to know how such matters are regu- 
lated in Oregon, perhaps it will not be improper to copy 
it verbatim : — 



OREGON TERRITORY. 433 

"Any person now holding, or hereafter wishing to 
establish a claim to land in this Territory, shall designate 
the extent of his claim by natural boundaries, or by 
marks at the corners and upon the lines of such claim, 
and have the extent and boundaries of said claim re- 
corded in the office of the Territorial Recorder, in a 
book to be kept by him for that purpose, within twenty 
days from the time of making such claim ; Provided, 
that those who shall be already in possession of land, 
shall be allowed twelve months, from the passage of this 
act, to file a description of his claim in the Recorder's 
office ; and provided, further, that the said claimant 
shall state in his record, the size, shape and locality of 
such claim, and give the names of the adjoining claim- 
ants ; and the Recorder may require the applicant for 
such record to be made, to answer on his oath touching 
the facts. 

*' All claimants shall, within six months from the time 
of recording their claim, make permanent improvements 
upon the same, by building or inclosing, and also become 
an occupant upon said claim, within one year from the 
date of such record, or, in case not occupied, the person 
holding said claim shall pay into the Treasury the sum 
of five dollars annually ; and, in case of failure to occu- 
py, or failui'e of payment of the sum above stated, the 
claim shall be considered as abandoned ; Provided, that 
no non-resident of this Territory shall have the benefit 
of the Law ; and provided, further, that any resident of 
this Territory, absent on his private business for two 
years, may hold his claim by paying five dollars, an- 
nually, to the Treasury. 

" No individual shall be allowed to a claim of more 
than one square mile, or six hundred and forty acres, in 
a square or oblong form, according to the natural situa- 
tion of the premises ; nor shall any individual be allowed 
to hold more than one claim at the same time. Any 
person, complying with the provisions of these ordi- 
nances, shall be entitled to the same recourse against 
trespass, as in other cases by law provided. 

"Partnerships of two or more persons, shall be allowed 



434 OREGON TERRITORY. 

to take up a tract of land, not exceeding six hundred and 
forty acres to each person in said partnership, subject to 
all the provisions of this law, and whenever such partner- 
ship is dissolved, the members shall record the particular 
parts of said tract which may be allotted to them re- 
spectively ; provided, that no member of said partnership 
shall hold a separate claim at the time of the existence 
of said partnership." 

It was also determined at the special election, by a 
vote of the people, that the amended Organic Law 
should become the law of the land, after the first Tues- 
day in June, 1845, when the election of a Governor and 
Members of the House of Representatives was to take 
place. 

In the mean time the people of Oregon, though differ- 
ing as much in their education, their degrees of civiliza- 
tion and refinement, and their constitutional habits, as 
they do in the color of their skin, continued in their inter- 
course with one another, to form a remarkably peaceable 
and quiet community. But, it will not be understood by 
this, that the Oregonians exhibited no irregularities, no 
wickedness in their conduct ; but simply that in civil 
regulations, and daily intercourse in matters of business, 
and in efforts to promote the welfare of the country, the 
community was one of order, gentleness and unanimity. 
As a proof of this, when steps have been taken to adopt 
laws from time to time, as the exigencies of the case 
have seemed to require, though numbers have usually 
been opposed to the measures, yet, after having been 
adopted by the majority, they have been universally 
acknowledged. Those most opposed at first, like true- 
hearted republicans, would fall in with the majority, and 
sustain the laws with their entire influence. 

Another thing that speaks well for the civil order that 
prevailed in the community before the present organiza- 
tion was established, is the fact, that crimes were very 
few. True, there were some petty quarrels between 
white men, but in a very few instances did they amount 
to blows. 

So few were the cases of serious litigation, that when 



OREGON TERRITORY. 435 

the first Circuit Courts were held in the four different 
counties, there appeared but one case of assault in the 
whole country,' and in that the circumstances were so 
extenuating that the defendant was fined only twenty- 
five dollars. The highest charge that came before either 
Justices or Judges, in Oregon, up to 1845, was against a 
man for challenging another to fight a duel, who, for a 
foolish violation of a law which had just been passed, was 
fined in the sum of five hundred dollars, and disfranchised 
for life. It being the first case of the kind in the country, 
the last part of the sentence was remitted by a special act 
of the Legislature. 

There are vagabonds and scape-gallowses in almost 
every country, and it would be singular if none had found 
their way to Oregon. That this may have been the case, 
appears from a most desperate afljray which greatly 
disturbed the quiet of the community, and which took 
place in the upper part of the settlement on the Walla- 
mette river. 

A man by the name of Joel Turnham, who possessed 
a most reckless and desperate disposition, committed 
several outrages upon a peaceful and inoflfensive man by 
the name of Webley Hauxhurst. One day, Turnham 
took occasion to tie his horse in Hauxhurst's oat field, as 
he had frequently done before, without asking liberty, 
and then going to Hauxhurst's house, the latter expostu- 
lated with him for taking such undue liberties with his 
property. This so enraged Turnham that he seized 
Hauxhurst by the throat, with the intention of flogging 
him ; but, while in the act of throwing him to the floor, 
the wife of Hauxhurst, who was an Indian woman of the 
Callapooah tribe, seized a board that lay near, and with 
one blow upon the head of Turnham, for an instant, 
paralized every muscle in his frame, and brought him 
staggering to the floor. Soon, however, Turnham ga- 
thered himself up and immediately left the house, swear- 
ing vengeance upon the woman, saying, "There is no 
law against kilhng Indians." 

Hauxhurst, fearing as well for his own safety, as that 
Turnham would carry his threat into execution against 



436 OREGON TERRITORY. 

the life of his wife, resolved upon taking immediate 
measures to secure the arrest of Turnham. 

Turnham himself, at the previous election, had been 
chosen constable, and consequently, L. H. Judson, Esq., 
on apphcation being made by Hauxhurst for a precept 
against Turnham, deputized a man by the name of John 
Edmonds to take him into custody. Edmonds immedi- 
ately took the precept, and walking into a shop where 
Turnham was with a number of other persons, told him 
that he was his prisoner, and commenced reading the 
warrant. Not being able to read it readily, on account 
of an impediment in his speech, Turnham said, " Here, 
let me read it ;" and snatching it out of the hands of 
Edmonds, tore it in pieces, and stamped it beneath his 
feet ; and then, seizing a knife in one hand, and a ham- 
mer in the other, swore he would butcher the first man 
that attempted to take him. Edmonds called for help, 
but none dared to come near. Turnham, therefore, 
walked out of the shop, mounted his horse and rode off 
towards the house of Hauxhurst. Another warrant was 
issued, and Edmonds was advised to enter into all neces- 
sary precautions to take Turnham at any rate. Accord- 
ingly, he proceeded to the Oregon Institute and got Mr. 
Hamilton Campbell and some others, to go and assist 
him. Supposing that Turnham would fight, and from 
his desperate and sanguinary character would doubtless 
attempt to kill him, Edmonds armed himself with a re- 
volving six-barreled pistol that was sure fire, and pro- 
ceeded on to Hauxhurst's house. Turnham had been 
there and ground his large knife, which he usually carried 
in his belt under his coat, but had left a short time before 
Edmonds arrived. 

Looking back from the prairie over which he was 
passing, he saw a company of men as they were dis- 
mounting from their horses, and immediately wheeled 
his horse around, and rode back upon the full gallop to- 
wards Hauxhurst's house. As Turnham approached, 
Edmonds placed himself inside of a small gate which 
led into the door-yard, with his right hand placed on the 
breech of his pistol, which he carried in his pantaloon's 



OREGON TERRITORY. 437 

pocket. Turnham, paying no attention to him, came up 
immediately to the gate, and while passing through into 
the yard, Edmonds put his left hand upon Turnham's 
shoulder, and said, " You are my prisoner." Turnham 
immediately drew his long knife and brandished it in 
Edmonds' face, and Edmonds as quickly presented his 
six-shooter at Turnham's breast. They eyed each 
other for an instant, but Turnham, mad to desperation, 

exclaimed, "Shoot and be d d;" and commenced 

throwing himself backwards and forwards, from one 
side of the yard to the other, for the twofold purpose 
of evading the bullets, and of placing himself in a posi- 
tion to enable him to make a successful drive upon his 
antagonist. Those who witnessed the aifray, have no 
doubt but that he was bent upon the death of Edmonds. 
Some one within the house was heard to cry out to 
Edmonds, "Why don't you shoot]" At this Edmonds 
commenced his fire. The first two bullets missed Turn- 
ham altogether. The third wounded him in his knee, 
the fourth in his neck, the fifth in his face, and during 
all this time he was rushing forward upon Edmonds with 
the utmost vengeance. 

When the fifth ball hit him, he clapped one hand to 
the wound, and cried out, " Oh ! " and hesitated a mo- 
ment as if he would yield ; but gathering himself up for 
one more struggle, while making his last and most des- 
perate effort to plunge his knife into the heart of Ed- 
monds, the sixth ball pierced his temple, he fell and 
instantly expired. 

This case was of such a nature, as in the estimation 
of the Supreme Judge, to demand an investigation by 
the Grand Jury. Accordingly, Edmonds gave bonds 
for his appearance at Court, and, though his enemies 
labored hard to convict him of murder, yet, when 
the matter was thoroughly investigated by the Jury, 
it was pronounced to be a clear case of justifiable 
homicide. 

THE END. 




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